7 Biggest Falls From Grace in Football Since 2017 

Major respect and love to Nianggolan's wife for beating cancer and spending 2 years in remission. From a HITC Sevens fan who celebrates 18 months in remission himself today. 👌

I know it’s Hazard and he was something truly special but I’d put Dele on top of this list. The g/a numbers he managed before turning 23 was genuinely off the charts. There was a general belief that when it’s all said and done, he would be amongst the better PL midfielders in history. Fast forward 3 years and he’s championship level, drastic drop off.

2017 feels so recent yet so far away at the same time

It hurts that Eden Hazard has gone from a Premier League icon to a complete injury prone disaster

You could have added the entire Manchester United starting XI to the honorable mentions (Pogba, Maguire, Rashford et al)

The only person who gained on the fact that Øzil stayed after Sanchez left was Gunnersaurus

How about football redemption arcs? Moyes comes to mind.

umtiti unfortunately had lots of injuries after the world cup. Very very unlucky that his knee gave out on him

Diego Costa should be up there too. The way he went from 20 goals/season to 5-7 within 6 months or a year is totally inexplicable

I'm surprised Phil Coutinho wasn't even mentioned at all... I know he's been performing decently since joining Aston Villa on loan in January, but still you wouldn't be expecting him to be playing at this mid-table/relegation battling club five years ago when he joined Barcelona being the third most expensive player of all time...

Here is a tip. In sweden there is a club that is named Brommapojkarna. They are known to be the biggest club in Europe on the youth side. However they are known to have no fans and have many controversies. The club is great on the youth side and produce so many players who makes it to the nationalteam or make it abroad.

Tbh Nainggolan's fall from grace seemed to have started from the 2018 WC, he had a falling out with Roberto Martinez over his lifestyle (smoking that is) and then was kicked out of the squad when he seemed like their best Midfielder alongside De Bruyne.

I remember Alexis Sanchez' first game for Man Utd, it was against my local team Yeovil Town in the FA Cup, and Sanchez was dreadful and got mocked by the Huish Park faithful. It was downhill for him even from then.

nah, Alli is a far more grievous decline than Hazard, for one, Hazard maintained his quality up until he hit the precipice of his 30s, he maintained a high standard for 10+ years, and only fell off AFTER he moved past his physical peak, Dele Alli fell off before he even hit the age of 26, his peak was far, far shorter, and he actually fell off BEFORE Hazard did, his decline started earlier, and has already taken a larger proportion of his career than Hazard's by far. secondly Hazard was blighted by repeated injuries, missing 71 games through injury, in 2.5 years. for contrast, Dele Alli, in his entire time at Tottenham only missed 37 games through injury in 6.5 years. there's far more of a physical explanation and contribution for Hazard's decline. finally, their end destination, when fit, Hazard can still get gametime for Real Madrid battling in the CL knockouts and La Liga title-race. he's not made great contributions in that regard, but he's still up to the standard where he can be trusted to play in these levels of games, and he still plays regularly for the international side. Alli can barely get a minute on the pitch for a relegation threatened side despite having no current injury issues at the age of 26. and has been excised entirely from the international set-up, albeit understandably with the rise of an insane wave of talent in the 8/10 positions (Mount, Foden, Grealish, Saka, Maddison, Emile Smith Rowe etc,) by and large, Hazard's tale is one of a man getting past his physical peak after a long, successful career, and injuries (likely contingent on being so omnipresent at the top level of football for so long) dragging his incredibly high standards down to much lower ones, but still ones that keep him present near the top-level of football. Alli's tale is one of a man hitting his physical prime, mostly fit and unblighted by injury, and dropping off the face of the earth, if Hazard's current track continues, he might be playing for a midtable top-flight side soon, or a top side in the likes of the Netherlands or Portugal in the middle of his 30s. if Alli's current trajectory continues he'll be playing in the Championship in what should ostensibly be his golden years.

Isco deserves it over Meyer imo. Meyer was a great talent but never the "grace", unlike the other superstars in this seven. Isco was at the peak of his power at 2017, but... the rest is history.

what the hell happened to Julian Draxler was regarded as a wonder kid back when he signed for PSG now he’s 28 and he’s really not lived up to his potential.

I think Coretein Tolisso is a good shout. He was phenomenal at Lyon and started well at Bayern but injuries have ravaged his career. Shame because i still think they’re may be a player in their somewhere.

I think the move to Man Utd absolutely destroyed Alexis Sanchez. We need to know what went on there

Pochettino was misquoted. He said Dele Alli "could win a Balloon" at the Spurs 'Family and Children Day Fete' and "should be shown the door".

Nice that you managed to include Meyer. He was really looking to become an icon at Schalke, but decided that money is worth more than any kind of status amongst clubs, leagues and fans. Really sad, but Isco maybe would've deserved that spot even more than Meyer since he was absolutely outstanding in Real's 2016/17 season. Remember him ripping Atletico apart in the semis

I believe as an Everton fan, Dele is very talented with the ball at his feet, but provides very little of the ball. And although he's talented on the ball he isn't quite Messi/neymar/Jeremy 'swaz' lynch on the ball, so he doesn't really get away with it

Completely disagee that Özil's decline is nothing to do with age. Even in 2017-18 he was missing games through injury more frequently, played against medical advice in UEL knockouts that season. Injuries became more frequent, now he can't start 2 games in a week. A lot of players who were already first team regulars at 18/19 decline physically at quite a young age, eg Rooney, Kaka

7 players who have turned their careers around, all time, the players who went for decent money, were shit for a while and then kicked on to be some of the best players in the world

Dele Ali is such a sad story. As a spurs fan, watching your only hope crumble apart right in front of you is something else.

I wonder what happened to Andre Schurrle? He was a beast at the 2014 world cup, played for Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, and then just disappeared and retired at age 29 for some reason.

#1 hurts me. Hazard is a Premier league legend. The streets will never, ever forget how he turned Coquelin into a spinning top.

Some of these falls can be attributed to contracts. In the case of Sanchez, once he signed that contract at MU, he had a lot less incentive to play at a high level. The same issue happens in the NFL and NBA. Players impress in one or two seasons which enables them to sign huge guaranteed contracts either with their current team or a new one. When their environment changes they are not always as productive.

Well that intro escalated quickly

As a gooner, I really appreciated Sanchez's ManU implosion and can attest Ozil is the most frustrating player. Mesut had all the skill and vision, but refused to train his body in the slightest.

Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job .

Here we see again how crazy bale was bale could’ve been one of the greatest for me he is the best welsh player ever better than giggs for sure(even if not mentioned)

I am very surprised to see no mention of Danny Drinkwater throughout this entire list

I think Ali should be top spot. As you say, injuries have disrupted Hazard at Madrid.

ur jokes are getting funnier and funnier every video fr i’m loving yhis

I remember chat about Dele Alli being a £100 million pound player a couple of years ago, now spurs have given him to Everton like a weed lay-on from your dealer.

Day 14: Considering that the last player who played in the miracle of Bern died about 5 months ago, I would really like to see a video about the whole story between Germany and Hungary, especially because it meant so much to at least the German population

These guys are a lesson to any young player who thinks it's easy and that once they get into a team, all they have to do is turn up.

It’s so sad for Dele. I live in MK, and the rise of Dele was such a big thing here. He seemed able to do anything. He scored amazing goals on a consistent basis, he ran the show from midfield when MK Dons beat Man Utd 4-0 in the league cup and he always seemed such a nice, shy young lad. The manager, when asked how good Dele could become, said 'as good as he wants'. When he went to Spurs we were so excited about how well he started. I was at Wembley when he made his England debut and we we all so proud. The fall has been so sudden, and so complete. It’s heartbreaking, really. I don’t think he’ll ever come back from it.

Man Nainggolan's case is truly saddening. He was in a mid Roma side but still carried them to the top spots of the table and still earned himself a spot among the best midfielders in the world. At one point he was without a doubt Serie A's top midfielder. If he would had played for any "Big Team" he would had been World XI material by far, sadly he never reached such heights, but he absolutely had the potential.

You make some great content :)

Wowwww, very surprised to see Naingolan here, but you're kinda right! I would've COMPLETELY overlooked that guy! 🤷‍♀️

I remember the transfer of Eden Hazard. He was arguably the best PL at that time. It was considered a major statement by Real Madrid that it's the beginning of a new era and they are over Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. Many Barca fan were angry that their club bought Griezmann over Hazard. He was definitely amongst the elite back then, now his market value is €18m.

With the World Cup coming later this year, it made me think about all the transfers that occur after a major tournament. If only someone would make a video on that subject🤔

Hahahahah, what an intro, Alfie. Had me chuckle so hard it turned out in full blown laughter lol

Hope you can do a video explaining how much you don’t know about the insides of football. Keep up the great fan work

I noticed that everyone has forgotten Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, I only remembered him because I noticed him at the FA cup final amongst the subs.

This video could almost be remade entirely with Real Madrid players. Isco, Asensio, Hazard, Bale, Marcelo, etc.

omg THANK YOU FOR ADDING MUSIC

as an arsenal fan for my entire life, Ozil was not cast aside because of his speaking out against china's treatment of uyghur muslims. That simply is a media talking point and that is it. He declined heavily which is why you've included him in this video. That being said he was a revelation during his time in London and most hated the fact that he got frozen out of the team due to him being 'lax' as you call it. Mikel hates that style of play and wants every player to pressure when necessary thats why he loves Odegaard so much.

Lol that started rather darkly humerous thanx alfie made my night

To be fair to Hazard, him not playing much THIS SEASON is intirely Ancelotti's doing. He simply doesn't like the little magician. 🤷‍♀️

I always wondered what happened to Adriano it's as if he just dropped off the face off the earth in fact he think he did literally disappear for a while when he supposedly went AWOL in Brazil and no one knew where he was until he showed up a while later.

Dele Alli is showing some signs of life. Hes at least making more key passes

Saw Nainggolan at the World Cup in 2018 and against Liverpool in the Champions League and he was one of the best

Incredible to think that Sanchez and hazard used to run the premier league

Max Meyer was supposed to become a superstar , he was honestly amazing for his age and he was a beast on fifa 16 and 17 so the way his career has panned out has honestly made me sad

A Swansea ballboy is laughing his head off....and then lying on his head to stop the doctors from helping....the doctor then kicked his head, but maintains he didn't....

Good intro!

Greatest intro of all time.

How about players who had the potential to become world class but didn't quite reach those heights.

I think including Nainggolan is a bit to harsh, because he just did the transfer for his wife and also played sensational at Cagliari, so it might just be his age!

Watching this video after the deli alli interview changes a lot

I really love the intro its way to short...next time i will try to stay awake so i can watch the rest of it never got to this part "7 Biggest Falls From Grace in Football Since 2017"

I really respect Kane for this reason. He was hyped like the next big thing, but the hype didn't get into his head. He worked tirelessly and is on course to topple Rooney to become England's highest goal scorer.

Deli Ali is a shell of his former self, and still young. Lost his drive trotting around now. Sad with the talent he had...

It must be Jack Wilshere, although he was already declining in 2017. And then you can add Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis to it.

I have nothing but support for players who hit poor form, lack confidence or perhaps need a new challenge. Players should always have the fan support. But what fans have an issue with is players who demand the biggest wages and contracts while consistently underperforming season after season especially after signing huge new contracts

You sometimes wonder if a biggish club like Arsenal or Spurs should take a chance on someone like Isco or Hazard. There's still a footballer in there somewhere and maybe a change in scenery is all that's required

That intro is hilarious!

Alli now plays in Turkey in September 2022..damn that's sad.

I love when you are 3 mins into a video after nearly 2 mins of exposition and then you get hit with Ad’s 👍

Dele practically kept us up tonight he came on and changed the game. He's still got it 100 percent

Naggolian was a true force for Roma and Belgium ... True box to box hustle

0:22 Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I believe in most cases race horses are kept for breeding rather than put down after they are too old to race. Well, apart from the cases that a horse can no longer stand up because of injuries and they put it out of its misery.

What’s gone right at Brentford would be a good video idea I reckon - the story goes back well before the arrival of Benham and the money ball era

after he introduces Samuel Umtiti, HITC puts a picture of Freddy Adu in a US kit 🤣💀

Please do pt 2

With Dele alli is breaks my heart seeing you like this. I feel his fall from grace is something deeply seated with spurs I feel like losing dembele and eriksen made him lose his freedom especially the rise of son in the second striker role and the amount of manager turn overs in spurs in recent years

5:41 this Team 😭😭😭 i want that back😭. I wish i saw a game when i was in Barcelona...

Out of all Hitc he’s gotta be the best commentator

Technically, the sale of Alli was a profit for Spurs as they could get €10m on a €5m investment but there was a point they could've fleeced a PL club for €70m.

should've included barcelona, the whole club in this list, not the individual players, just the club itself because it is probably the greatest fall from grace to ever happen in the history of this game.

Alli would have made number 1 if you did the video today...I heard he's going to the Turkish league. Crazy at such a young age

Asensio and Marcelo are two prime Real Madrid examples. Asensio went from one of the most hyped youngsters ever with a goal in the European Super Cup and at Camp Nou aged 21, to being a boring part-time player aged 26. Marcelo went from the world's most dangerous left backs, to a complete defensive liability. Two complete falls from grace.

Eden hazard 💙 what player fro me he was the best player in Chelsea history 👏

7 Best Supersubs of all time

Hazard is very harsh ... His decline started 18 months ago... Unlike Bale or Ali

Dan Sturridge for me. The man couldn’t even get a game here in Australia

Alfie cud u possible do a video on the 7 best refs in Europe's top 7 leagues?

Alli's fall from grace is insane. Just shows you that Ego should never out-weigh Ability.

Money + burnout = can't be arsed.

You should definitely do this for football clubs(but obviously clubs that haven’t had financial troubles)

Dele's still quite good. Just would play well as a less defensive 10 alongside an overly active and defensive 9

I still do not understand Alexis Sanchez

Adriano was special, his strength pace and left foot was unreal. He surpassed R9 in his Inter days and was the best striker in the world mid 00's, shame of his downfall.

19:15 Yes, that's both Nianggolan and Hazard in the same image. Both players are on this list.

Alexis Sanchez was arguably the player of the season in Ligue 1 now...

7:09 that is very interesting they stretched out umtiti's contract to create money to sign other players because that has become a very common occurence in the other football. Always interesting to see what ideas leagues steal from one another to fix issues

It's hardly Ozil's fault He was at Arsenal so what do you expect?

Sad though to watch the declines of these respectivel players but I hope to see them bouncing as soon as possible good friends!!!🙏