8 Footballers Who Proved Everybody Wrong

8. Arjen Robben

Dutch winger Arjen Robben was very much Chelsea's Cinderella, a gracious albeit temporal beauty of the ball, whose flat-footed crystal slippers would shatter at the slightest contact. Although his time at Stamford Bridge was trophy laden, almost constant injury strife meant Robben gradually became an expensive liability. Being substituted as a substitute in the 2007 FA Cup Final - the ultimate ignominy for a player - signalled the end. Months later, Jose Mourinho offloaded his unreliable attacker to Real Madrid.

Robben found consistency easier to come by in the Bernabeu, but his lack of eye-catching figures - in spite of his performances - and a want for marketable star appeal at a club as obsessed with image as honours did him no favours. When Florentino Perez rolled back into town as Real's President in 2010, he once more opened the black hole of his chequebook to a galaxy of stars. Why have cotton like Robben when you can have the silky Cristiano Ronaldo? Again, he was cast aside, this time to Bayern Munich.

Something about Bavarian life appealed to a player with absolutely none of the trappings of superstardom; the Teutonic way suited him to a tee, and he immediately hit the ground running with his trademark anatic gait. Robben blossomed in the Bundesliga as Bayern became his forever home, a place where he'd rack up 144 goals and 20 trophies. This time, the fairy godmother's spell was permanent.