Seven stars who got blockbuster moves after World Cups - but ended up flopping

Seven stars who got blockbuster moves after World Cups - but ended up flopping,From Kleberson to James Rodriguez, there are plenty of stars who hit the headlines at the World Cup, only to flop badly after joining clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid

Seven stars who got blockbuster moves after World Cups – but ended up flopping

Ever gone out, bought something and immediately regretted it afterwards?

Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid, amongst others, know how you feel. Three of the biggest names in world football have all been stung by buyer's remorse after purchasing a star who shone bright at the World Cup, only to flop back in the muck and nettles of domestic football.

From Kleberson to El Hadji Diouf and James Rodriguez, there are plenty of big name players who looked like absolute world beaters for their countries, but didn't make the grade for their new club. Daily Star Sport takes a look back at seven of them.

READ MORE: England fans claim 'justice for Lampard' as Germany crash out after contentious goal

James Rodriguez

Who do you think is the biggest ever post-World Cup flop? Let us know in the comments section.

Rodriguez impressed for Colombia but flopped at Real Madrid (Image: Getty Images)

Perhaps the best example of a post-World Cup flop is James Rodriguez. Rodriguez briefly became the hottest property in football after a sensational 2014 tournament, which saw him score six goals for Colombia and claim the Golden Boot.

Naturally, the game's biggest names came calling. And, like a kid in a candy shop, the 31-year-old opted to go for the juiciest sweet in the whole shop – Real Madrid.

After a promising first season at the Bernabeu, injuries curtailed his time in the Spanish capital – words that could equally be applied to the rest of his career. Following stints at Bayern Munich, Everton and AL-Rayyan, Rodriguez now plays for Olympiacos in Greece.

Kleberson

A World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, Kleberson arrived at Manchester United to great fanfare in August 2003. Luiz Felipe Scolari deemed him the "driving force" of Brazil's World Cup win, but that's not how things played out at Old Trafford.

The 43-year-old made just 30 appearances for the Red Devils before starting a nomadic journeyman career that took in stops at the likes of Besiktas, Flamengo and Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the United States.

Kleberson still looks back on his time with United fondly and retired in 2016. He's now the assistant manager at New York City FC in MLS.

El Hadji Diouf

A number of Senegal's squad from the 2002 World Cup got exciting moves after the tournament, including El Hadji Diouf. Faced with the choice of signing Diouf or Nicolas Anelka on a permanent deal, Liverpool opted for the former. Needless to say, it didn't work out.

The £10million man faced controversy after controversy during his time in English football and has been blasted by his ex-Reds team-mates on numerous occasions.

Jamie Carragher once said: "He has one of the worst strike rates of any forward in Liverpool history. He’s the only number nine ever to go through a whole season without scoring, in fact, he’s probably the only number nine of any club to do that. He was always the last one to get picked in training."

Ouch. Diouf left Liverpool after scoring just six goals in 79, joining Bolton Wanderers before stops at Sunderland, Blackburn, Rangers, Doncaster and Leeds. He is now the assistant coach of Senegal.

Marcos Rojo

Manchester United splashed £16million on Marcos Rojo after his performances for Argentina helped them reach the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil.

While Rojo doesn't go down as the worst signing in United's recent history (there's a lot of competition), he certainly didn't deliver on the potential that he showed during the summer of 2014 for Argentina.

Work permit problems and injury issues didn't help him during his seven seasons at Old Trafford, where he only ended up playing 122 games in total. He returned to his homeland last year, joining Boca Juniors.

Asamoah Gyan

Sunderland spent £13million on Asamoah Gyan after he helped Ghana reach the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The forward's record in front of goal for the Black Cats wasn't that bad; he netted 11 goals in 37 appearances, including a memorable strike as the north east club defeated Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in November 2010.

But it was his acrimonious exit from the Stadium of Light that left a bitter taste in the mouth of supporters. Gyan was tempted by a big money offer from the UAE in the summer, which led to him force a move after he made it clear he would not play for Sunderland again.

Andreas Isaksson

Manchester City needed a new goalkeeper in the summer of 2006 after David James opted to join Portsmouth. Andreas Isaksson, fresh from playing at the World Cup for Sweden, seemed like the perfect fit.

Signed for a modest fee of £2million, no-one complained about the price tag. But his time in Manchester was hit by knee, ankle and thumb injuries and the emergence of a young stopper by the name of Joe Hart.

He made just 20 appearances for City in total, the last of which probably best summed up his time at the Etihad – an 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough on the final day of the 2007-08 season.

Salif Diao

Arriving alongside Diouf after Senegal's heroics at the 2002 World Cup, Salif Diao didn't put noses out of joint in quite the same way as his fellow countryman.

However, his spell at Anfield proved just as fruitless. Bought for £5million, Diao often found himself shunted out of position by Reds boss Gerard Houllier, which didn't help during his time on Merseyside.

After Rafael Benitez replaced Houllier in 2004, the midfielder had a series of loan spells at Birmingham, Portsmouth and Stoke, who he later joined permanently in 2007.