11 Players Tipped to Be Ballon d’Or Contenders Who Failed to Live Up to the Hype

Football fans are always quick to jump on the hype train of any emerging young talent and will even prematurely propel them into Ballon d’Or conversations. But unfortunately, this does not always play out as expected.

When any youngster breaks into the first team with a handful of impressive performances, it can be easy to go overboard with excitement as to their potential. While players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were tipped for the big time from a very young age – and boy, did they achieve it – other players don’t always live up to their potential.

A variety of factors can come into play over the course of a career that put the brakes on a player. Injury issues, attitude problems and mismanagement are all variables that have contributed to the downfall of many young careers.

But who exactly are these youngsters that failed to live up to the expectations of becoming Ballon d’Or contenders? Here are 11 players who never won the prize after being touted as a possible future star.

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11

Royston Drenthe

Royston Drenthe looked set to be the next big thing after forcing through a move from Feyenoord to Real Madrid in 2007. Becoming a Galactico at the age of 20 usually indicates someone is set to become a global star – see Vinicius Jr. But this unfortunately did not happen for the Dutch winger.

He spent five years in Madrid, but made only 46 appearances for the club and scored a disappointing total of two goals. The majority of his time contracted to the club was spent on loan at a variety of club, including Everton, with former goalkeeper Tim Howard detailing how Drenthe’s attitude was a stumbling block in his career. Never setting the world alight in any of those spells, Drenthe ended up moving around the lower leagues in England and over to Russia. The 38-year-old retired in November 2023, bringing the curtain down on a disappointing career.

10

Adel Taarabt

Adel Taraabt was filed under players ‘the streets will never forget’ following an exciting and promising stint at QPR. He dazzled the Championship as a youngster, but only showed glimpses of brilliance when he reached the Premier League. The Moroccan himself has stated he has some regrets over his career as even an old Tottenham teammate told him he was destined for the big time.

In a twist of fate, Modric went on to win the Ballon d’Or, while Taarabt never even threatened to get onto the shortlist. Now 36, he’s plying his trade for Sharjah FC in the UAE Pro League.

9

Robinho

Robinho was an exciting young player at Real Madrid, even earning a nomination in the 2007 Ballon d’Or race, when a couple of Premier League clubs started to take notice. Chelsea were set to sign the forward before Manchester City – under new ownership – swooped in to hijack the deal. It was supposed to be the transfer that would kick-start City’s rise to prominence with the Brazilian at the forefront.

But things never really clicked in England as he only found the back of the net 14 times in 41 appearances. Being on the books of Real Madrid, City and AC Milan in the early years of his career, it is easy to see where the hype came from. The majority of the rest of his career was spent moving between China, Brazil and Turkey.

8

Michael Johnson

England thought they had the man to replace the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard when Michael Johnson emerged from the Man City academy. Sven-Goran Eriksson – the England manager at the time – believed that the youngster was a future star for the nation. The Swedish boss was not the only one to think we were witnessing the beginning of a long, exciting career. Unfortunately, injury issues plagued Johnson’s playing days as he only managed a total of 37 appearances in a six-year spell with the CIty first-team.

Averaging just over six games per season, Johnson retired from the game in 2012, aged only 24. A young midfielder with his whole future ahead of him being forced to cut short his career is a truly heartbreaking story.

7

Hachim Mastour

Top clubs all around Europe were in the race to sign Mastour in 2012, but it was AC Milan that won the battle for his signature, aged 14. The Rossoneri were struggling at the time and their manager, Clarence Seedorf, called the youngster up to the first-team squad for the first time.

Surprisingly, the Italian-born man never made a single appearance for the first team despite all the talk and excitement surrounding his name. Over a decade on since then, Mastour has struggled to even make double-figure appearances for any of the teams he has played for since his exit from the San Siro in 2018. He has spoken openly about struggling with the weight of expectation and now plays for Virtus Verona in Italian football’s third division.

6

Giovani dos Santos

Tottenham supporters thought they had hit the jackpot in 2008 when they signed Giovani dos Santos from Barcelona. An exciting forward that could play across all attacking positions, the Mexican was expected to provide big things in the Premier League.

Fitness issues held him back for large parts of his spell in London and as a result, he was loaned out on a number of occasions and Dos Santos eventually left Spurs having never scored for the club. He spent time at Mallorca and Villarreal in Spain but did not really find his level until he moved to LA Galaxy in the MLS.

The most fruitful spell of his career being spent in America, where the level of football wasn’t anywhere near the top European leagues, is not a good look for someone so highly thought of 15 years ago. He ultimately retired in 2023, having been without a club since 2021, when he left CF America.

5

Bojan

Bojan was just one player touted to become ‘the next Lionel Messi’, and the Spaniard appeared to suffer from the expectation that came with the tag. Especially as he was emerging while the Argentine was still at the peak of his powers.

It is hard to understand why such pressure was put on his shoulders, other than the fact he physically resembled his Barcelona teammate. There was obviously a lot of natural ability within the player, but it was far too early to be putting him in that position where success was expected rather than hoped for.

Although he put in some impressive displays early on, Bojan would move on to AC Milan, Roma and Ajax after some testing years, but he struggled to make any telling impression at subsequent clubs. Becoming part of a Stoke City side that contained several Champions League winners, it looked like he had an unlikely chance to resurrect his career. It just didn’t pan out that way due to injuries, and he eventually ended up heading to Montreal Impact and Vissel Kobe in Japan before retiring.

4

Freddy Adu

Fourteen-years-old. That was the age at which Freddy Adu was nicknamed ‘the new Pele’. In similar fashion to Bojan, being given such a label in his younger years probably did not help things for the American international.

He became the youngest ever American athlete when at DC United, but immediately didn’t live up to expectations. Scoring 11 goals in almost 90 appearances, the forward struggled to say the least. A brief spell in Europe with both Benfica and Monaco did not do anything to help further his career, and he ended up moving between a staggering 15 clubs in the space of 17 years.

3

Ravel Morrison

Much is made of the talent possessed by Paul Pogba, and rightly so, with the Frenchman being a World Cup winner. Now imagine a player in the Manchester United academy at the same time as Pogba – and being rated even more highly within the club.

That is exactly what happened in the case of Ravel Morrison, with Sir Alex Ferguson even stating that he was better than club icons Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs when the pair were his age. He made just three appearances at Old Trafford before being shipped out to West Ham in 2012, with attitude problems being mentioned as an issue behind the scenes.

Despite his ability, it is the attitude and bad luck with injuries that have held back the Englishman throughout his career ever since. Like several players on this list, Morrison has played at a vast number of clubs without finding a settled home, most recently playing for Precision FC in Dubai.

2

Alexandre Pato

Who could forget the goal Alexandre Pato scored at the Camp Nou? He made world-class football players look like statues as he made his way through the heart of the side before finishing with confidence. The striker was always tipped to reach the very top of the game and no one would have ruled out a future Ballon D’or win during his time at AC Milan, with the player himself stating that he dreamed of lifting the prize.

After Kaka departed for Real Madrid, it looked like Pato was destined to become the face of the club for the next decade. Brazil were also crying out for a top striker to be the figurehead for their national side at the time. But sadly, injuries put a stop to that trajectory as Pato missed large chunks of multiple seasons.

As he lost his blistering pace and struggled to regain any form, he returned home to Brazil where his fortunes never really turned around. He briefly returned to Europe with Chelsea and Villarreal, but did not pull up any trees during this time, eventually retiring in 2025.