Nine world class players who were absolutely rubbish in the Premier League

Many elite players venture to the Premier League to prove their world-class abilities have no bounds, but some can't handle the challenge they are faced with and turn out to be absolutely rubbish in English football

The Premier League undoubtedly presents the greatest level of competition and talent across world football.

If you're a top player who hasn't ventured to England, there is constantly an asterisk placed against your name as you haven't proved yourself in the home of football.

So many elite stars do just that, trying their hand at a spell in the Prem to prove their abilities have no bounds.

While cream rises to the top, some simply can't handle the challenge they are faced with.

And on that note, here are nine world class footballers who were absolutely rubbish in the Premier League.

Gonzalo Higuain

For all his goals at Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus, Higuain had always been a nearly player, especially because of his infamous miss in the 2014 World Cup final.

A loan move to Chelsea in January 2019 was a chance to prove his doubters wrong once and for all.

But he couldn't score at a consistent rate during his six-month spell, and after five goals in 19 appearances the Blues declined to extend his deal.

Who would you nominate for this list? Let us know in the comments section.

Angel Di Maria

Manchester United fans were buzzing when Di Maria hit the ground running after joining them for a near £60m fee in the 2014 summer window.

He won both Player and Goal of the Month for the club in September, but that was as good as it got for the Argentine winger.

Despite finishing the season with 14 Prem goal contributions, Di Maria had performed poorly and was immediately shipped off to PSG.

Radamel Falcao

Lethal finisher Falcao had two bites of the Premier League cherry, first spending the 2014/15 season with the Red Devils.

He was so underwhelming that manager Louis van Gaal demoted him to the under-21s for a match, and four goals in 26 first-team appearances unsurprisingly didn't earn him a permanent move.

Somehow his spell at Chelsea the following campaign was even worse, with injuries limiting him to 10 games which included only one finish.

Maicon

Blink and you'll have missed Maicon's one-year association with Manchester City for the 2012/13 season.

It defies logic that the Brazilian had been the best right-back in the world for Inter Milan and then found himself below Pablo Zabaleta and Micah Richards in the pecking order.

He finished the season with just nine Prem appearances before leaving on a free transfer to Roma.

Diego Forlan

Like both Higuain and Falcao, Uruguayan striker Forlan was another South American who couldn't hack playing in England.

A record of 10 league goals in 63 United games is awful, but perhaps the spell just came too soon in his career.

He went on to win two European Golden Shoes with Villarreal and Atletico Madrid and was also top scorer at the 2010 World Cup.

Davor Suker

Croatian icon Suker had won the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid, picked up the Golden Boot at the 1998 World Cup and was Ballon d'Or runner-up in the same year.

His arrival at Arsenal the following season was therefore very exciting for their fanbase - that was, until he managed just eight goals in 22 Prem games.

In fairness, Suker was past his prime, as a further short and unsuccessful spell with West Ham hit home.

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Playing in and for Germany was all that Bayern Munich legend Schweinsteiger had know when he moved to United in 2015.

And that fact was very clear to see as he struggled to get to grips with the Premier League.

Jose Mourinho went one step further than Van Gaal and demoted him to training with the youth squad barely 18 months out from him lifting the World Cup.

Andriy Shevchenko

As flops go, Shevchenko is right up there as one of the worse of all time.

The Ukrainian was unstoppable for AC Milan and is still the second-highest scorer in the Italian club's history.

However, the 2004 Ballon d'Or winner didn't click at Chelsea, managing to find the back of the net just nine times in 47 league appearances from 2006-2009.

Juan Sebastian Veron

We should be talking about Veron as one of the Premier League's greatest ever midfielders.

He had bags of talent but appeared to leave them behind in Italy when he move to Old Trafford from Lazio for a record-breaking £28.1m fee in 2001.

The speed of the English top flight was too much for him over the course of the next two seasons, so his one-year spell at Chelsea which followed also ended in disaster.