Wesley Sneijder, Ronaldinho, Kaka and more: 10 players who were world class… but not for long

Dutchman Sneijder was at one time rightly considered one of the world's very best but like many others before him that time was all too fleeting

Wesley Sneijder was on top of the world once - but like many others it was all too fleeting (Getty)

Wesley Sneijder is a Nice player joining on a free transfer following his exit from Galatasaray.

The Dutchman has enjoyed a stellar career taking in the heights of Real Madrid and a Champions League win with Inter Milan in 2010 and was at one time rightly considered one of the world's very best.

But like many others before him that time was all too fleeting.

Here's a look at those who once were world class but not for that long.

Wesley Sneijder

Peak years: 2008-2010

In the summer of 2009 Real Madrid went on the biggest spending binge in football history and plenty of very good players had to make way. Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, was trying to take his Inter team to the next level after winning Serie A in his first season in Milan. So he picked up Sneijder for a bargain €15m, and gave Inter exactly what they needed.

Sneijder was instrumental in Inter’s run to Champions League, starring against Chelsea, Barcelona and the final against Bayern. At the World Cup that summer, Sneijder was the best player there, nearly inspiring Holland to their first ever win. He finished 2010 acclaimed as one of the best players in the world, and just finished fourth for the Ballon d’Or that year.

Sneijder was at the peak of his powers in 2010 (AFP)

But Sneijder was never same player after that summer, even though he was just 26. Inter went into their long post-Mourinho turmoil, Sneijder turned down a move to Manchester United and ended up, in January 2013 at Galatasaray, where he played for four and a half years before leaving last month.

Ronaldinho

Peak years: 2003-2006

He would have been the greatest player of another era, but because of the remarkable elite longevity of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho’s spell at the top looks rather brief now.

Signed by Barcelona from PSG in 2003, Ronaldinho was meant to bring excitement, buzz and trophies back to the Nou Camp but he did even better than anyone could have hoped. Ronaldinho’s magic inspired Barcelona to the 2004-05 Spanish title, their first since 1999, winning him the Ballon d’Or. The next year he went one better, retaining the title and adding the Champions League too.

Ronaldinho had the world at his feet in 2004 (AFP)

Ronaldinho was more responsible than anyone in putting Barcelona back on top, but when Pep Guardiola took over in 2008 he swiftly sold the Brazilian, lacking fitness and focus, to Milan. Three years after that he was back in Brazil.

Gaizka Mendieta

Peak years: 1999-2001

Gaizka Mendieta was the beating heart of Hector Cuper’s great Valencia team that painfully lost the Champions League finals in both 2000 and 2001. First they lost 3-0 to Real Madrid and then, even worse, they lost on penalties to Bayern Munich in San Siro. Mendieta scored that evening, and scored in the shoot-out, but it was not enough.

That summer, back when Italian clubs could still pay the top fees, Lazio came in and signed Mendieta for €48m. But they were a team in decline, after Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure, and Mendieta made little impression there. After a loan at Barcelona, he ended his career at Middlesbrough, where he struggled with injuries but did at least win the 2004 Carling Cup.

Mendieta helped Valencia to two Champions League finals (Getty)

Kaka

Peak years: 2005-2007

The last man not called Messi or Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or was Kaka, almost 10 years ago in December 2007. He had just inspired Milan to the Champions League title, destroying Manchester United in the semi-final along the way. It almost made up for 2005, when he was brilliant again, firing Milan to a 3-0 lead over Liverpool in Istanbul which of course they could not hold onto. He was the most graceful footballer of his generation and in 2007 he was on top of the world.

But Kaka was never really the same player again after that. In January 2009 Manchester City tried to sign him for £91million until, in Garry Cook’s immortal words, Milan “bottled it”. Later that year Kaka did get his move, to Real Madrid for €65m, but it never worked for him there. He got injured and lost that famous old burst of pace. In 2013 he returned to Milan and is now in Major League Soccer with Orlando City.

Kaka won the Ballon d'Or in 2007 but could never reach those heights again (AFP)

Michael Owen

Peak years: 1998-2001

Has any English player ever done more as a teenager than Owen did? He tied for the Premier League golden boot at 18 and then did it again at 19. He dazzled at France ’98, scoring a goal against Argentina at St. Etienne that will never be forgotten.

But Owen started to struggle with hamstring injuries, before the modern treatments now available were in common use. He still enjoyed a brilliant 2001, turning the FA Cup final single-handedly, scoring a hat-trick in the 5-1 qualifier win at Munich, performances that earned him the Ballon d’Or, just as he turned 22.

Owen's early career had him as one of the world's best (Getty)

Like plenty of players on this list, he was not quite the same after winning that famous trophy. Liverpool started to decline under Gerard Houllier and Owen was sold to Real Madrid in 2005. After one year there he returned to Newcastle United where he was unlucky with a broken foot and then an ACL injury. He was never the same player again.

Robin van Persie

Peak years: 2010-13

Some of these players were robbed of the second half of their careers by injuries but Van Persie had the first half of his career stolen by bad luck. There had always been flashes after Arsenal signed him from Feyenoord in 2004 but it was only in his late 20s that we saw the very best of a player with brilliant touch, awareness and clinical instincts.

Van Persie was very good for Arsenal in 2010-11 but the following season he was absolutely brilliant, scoring 30 Premier League goals, many of them spectacular, winning the Golden Boot and the FWA Footballer of the Year. That summer he left Arsenal for Manchester United where he was just as good again, winning another Golden Boot and securing the first league title of his career, allowing Sir Alex Ferguson to retire happy that year.

Van Persie fired United to the league title after leaving Arsenal (Getty)

When Ferguson left, Van Persie struggled and after another two seasons at United, he left England after 11 years here to go Fenerbahce.

Fernando Torres

Peak years: 2007-2009

For his first few years at Anfield Fernando Torres looked like the best number 9 in the world. He was 23 years old when Liverpool signed him from boyhood club Atletico Madrid and he immediately looked perfect for the Premier League. He was fast, strong and deadly in front of goal, giving Rafael Benitez’s side a cutting edge that they had lacked for years.

Torres scored 33 goals in his first season in England, 2007-08, and that summer he made himself immortal by scoring Spain’s winner against Germany in the final of Euro 2008. The following season he suffered hamstring injuries but still nearly fired Liverpool to the Premier League title.

Torres was the world's best No.9 in his early time at Liverpool (Getty)

But Liverpool started to struggle under problems with the owners, Benitez left in 2010 and Torres did not look quite so sharp. Chelsea paid £50m for him in January 2011 but aside from his famous Nou Camp goal in 2012, he never looked the same player there and is now back at Atletico Madrid again.

Pablo Aimar

Peak years: 2001-2004

The biggest star of Argentina’s pre-Messi generation was Pablo Aimar, who came to Europe at the age of 21 after starring for River Plate. When Rafael Benitez replaced Hector Cuper, he built his Valencia team around Aimar and was quickly rewarded.

Valencia won La Liga in 2001-02 and 2003-04, as well as the 2004 UEFA Cup and it was all orchestrated by their brilliant little Argentine playmaker. He should have become one of the top players of the second half of the 2000s, but it did not work out like that. Benitez left Valencia for Liverpool, Aimar went to Real Zaragoza, who were relegated. Aimar struggled with injuries and ended up at Benfica,

Aimar was another star of that famed Valencia team (AFP)

Andrei Arshavin

Peak years: 2008-2009

Zenit St Petersburg caught plenty of people by surprise in 2008, as they followed their 2007 Russian title with the UEFA Cup win, beating Rangers 2-0 in Manchester. Arshavin was their inspiration, a creative wizard who could beat defenders and score goals. That summer at Euro 2008 he was just as good, shredding Holland 3-1 in the quarter-final which was the modern highpoint of Russian football.

Six months later Arshavin had moved to Arsenal and in April 2009 he famously scored four goals in a 4-4 draw at Anfield. It felt as if Arsenal had another world-class forward.

Arshavin's red hot run was all too brief for Arsenal (Getty)

But that was the peak and Arshavin appeared to lose interest after that, becoming a peripheral figure before eventually going back to Zenit, first on loan, then permanently. He is now at FC Kairat in Kazakhstan.

Diego Milito

Peak years: 2009-10

A team-mate of Sneijder at Inter, and like many of that team, a player who will always be remembered for what he achieved as part of Jose Mourinho’s great side. Milito had always been a solid goalscorer at Racing Club, Real Zaragoza and over two spells at Genoa. In 2009 Inter sold Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona and Mourinho took on Milito as a slightly low-profile replacement.

Milito fired Inter to Champions League glory in 2010 (AFP)

But 30-year-old Milito was the perfect man to play up front for Mourinho: strong, selfless and intelligent. He gave more to the team than Ibrahimovic could and he ended the season doing what Ibrahimovic never has: scoring twice in a Champions League final. He finished his career back in Argentina with Racing.