10 Footballers Totally Wasted At Their Clubs

These players could be doing more elsewhere.

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
Adam Davy/PA Archive

Like a pair of jeans that don’t quite fit the way they used to, some footballers eventually just seem to outgrow their clubs. For one reason or another, these players would be better off moving on to pastures new in order to rejuvenate their careers or start winning the trophies and titles they deserve.

Some of the players on this list are regular starters for their clubs but could be doing more elsewhere, while others are consistently left on the sidelines despite having plenty of potential. They’re all in different situations, but the one thing that unites them is the fact that they could benefit from a move to a new club.

10. Hatem Ben Arfa (PSG)

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
TheDreamHunter

Most people will have probably forgotten all about the existence of Hatem Ben Arfa, but, believe it or not, he is still a professional footballer. Back in the 2015-16 season, Ben Arfa enjoyed a remarkable renaissance at Nice, helping the team to a fantastic fourth place finish with a remarkable 17 league goals.

That summer, Ben Arfa was being linked with all sorts of big clubs around Europe and there was even talk of a late call-up to France’s Euro 2016 squad. In the end, he moved to PSG, which turned out to be a pretty terrible decision. The Parisians simply have too many attacking players to make room for Ben Arfa.

This season, he has been completely ignored by manager Unai Emery, not appearing in a single Ligue 1 game. In fact, in early April, Ben Arfa posted an amusing “Happy Birthday” message on his Instagram account, ‘celebrating’ the fact that he’d gone an entire year without appearing for his club.

At 31, Ben Arfa’s best days might be in the past, but he proved at Nice that when he gets games, he can be a wonderful player.

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