Three players whose careers went downhill after leaving Liverpool
The careers of many modern footballers usually don’t pan out the way one expects. For Liverpool, a club whose current status as world champions has established them as a dominant force, many players have made the decision to leave the club only to see their career head downhill as a result.
Here are 3 players who struggled after quitting Liverpool.
Yossi Benayoun
Over three seasons with Liverpool, Yossi Benayoun became a cult hero for the Anfield supporters, with his beguiling touch and deft creativity allowing him to shine in a number of roles in the Reds’ attacking line. He was never the leading man but the Israeli provided ample support for the likes of Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres.
In his final season with the club, he made 45 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals and assisting on a further seven, providing invaluable experience to a side that was undergoing a truly tumultuous period under Rafa Benitez.
While few could argue against his decision to jump ship on the arrival of Hodgson, Benayoun’s subsequent move to title challengers Chelsea was perhaps overly ambitious.
He spent his final four seasons in the Premier League with four London clubs in Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers but Benayoun never settled into the kind of role he had previously played at Liverpool — though he did receive a Europa League winners’ medal with the Blues in 2013.
Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho arrived at Barcelona after a protracted transfer saga a year ago. He started well, jumping into the vacuum left by Neymar Jr.’s departure and Ousmane Dembele’s injury struggles, scoring an impressive 10 goals in 22 games in his first season.
But in the 2018-19 season, he struggled to make an impact and failed to substitute for Iniesta, who left the club. The inevitable comparisons with Andres Iniesta, a club legend who left for Japan after 16 seasons in the first team, became a heavy burden.
He was even tried in a more advanced rule but because of Messi and Suarez’s partnership upfront, Coutinho had to battle it out for his position against Dembele and the Frenchman successfully usurped the former Liverpool star. He was finally loaned out to Bayern Munich in 2019 but has failed to make an impact in Germany too.
He has fallen behind Gnabry and Muller in the pecking order. Bayern have the option of making his transfer permanent but the German champions would be wise to reconsider, owing to the Brazilian’s lack of form over the last couple of years.
Fernando Torres
Many have attempted to delve into the fractured psyche of Liverpool’s former star striker, Fernando Torres, but few have captured the essence of his downward spiral.
When Torres moved from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool in 2007, the Spaniard was a coup signing by Benitez. Torres went on to score 81 goals in 142 appearances for the club.
Torres was adored by the Liverpool support and his decision to join Chelsea in January 2011 was widely criticized — largely because the striker looked set to significantly boost a major rival.
But Torres’ immediate decline at Stamford Bridge was astonishing, with a loss of pace and that supreme finisher’s instinct sullying his progress in the capital.
An unsuccessful loan spell with Milan followed in 2014/15 before an emotional return to Atletico in 2015. In June 2019, Torres announced his retirement from professional football.
