Which star signing was most unfairly written off at first?

By YPB TeamPublished Jul 22, 2026

Booed, benched and branded flops — then they made everyone eat their words. Whose early critics look silliest now?

1
Luka Modrić
Voted worst La Liga signing of 2012–13 by Marca readers — then won six Champions Leagues and the Ballon d'Or at Real Madrid.
1000pts
DI
2
Dennis Bergkamp
Mocked after seven goalless games for Arsenal in 1995, he became one of the Premier League's greatest ever players.
833pts
3
Andrea Pirlo
Deemed surplus at Inter, he moved on to define the deep playmaker role for Milan and Italy.
642pts
4
Mohamed Salah
Discarded by Chelsea as a flop, he returned with Liverpool to break Premier League scoring records.
577pts
5
Cristiano Ronaldo
Derided as a step-over show pony in his first United season before rewriting football's record books.
500pts
6
Kevin De Bruyne
Sold by Chelsea after three starts, he came back to run the Premier League for a decade at Manchester City.
500pts
7
Zinedine Zidane
Whistled early at Juventus in 1996 — within two years he was a World Cup winner and the world's best.
409pts
8
Olivier Giroud
Perpetually doubted at Arsenal and Chelsea, he ended up a World Cup winner and France's record scorer.
300pts
9
Didier Drogba
Dismissed as an overpriced gamble in his first Chelsea season before becoming their biggest big-game player.
300pts
10
Thierry Henry
Eight games without a goal after joining Arsenal — he left as the club's record scorer.
300pts
11
Virgil van Dijk
Ridiculed as a £75m panic buy, he transformed Liverpool into champions of England and Europe.
300pts
12
Granit Xhaka
Arsenal's scapegoat for years, he left as the heartbeat of a title challenge and a Leverkusen invincible.
300pts
13
Rodri
Questioned as a slow Fernandinho replacement, he became a Ballon d'Or-winning anchor for club and country.
300pts
14
David de Gea
Written off as too lightweight in his first Manchester United months, he became their long-time No. 1.
167pts