6 Premier League signings who flopped after the World Cup

5. El Hadji Diouf (Lens to Liverpool) 

Defending World and European champions France was held to a shocking 1-0 defeat by Senegal and was later dumped out of the tournament in the first round of World Cup 2002. Diouf scored the lone goal of the match and was voted as man of the match.

He continued to shine throughout the tournament raising the interest of Gerard Houllier the Liverpool manager at the time, who eventually signed him on 2 June for a whopping £10m. Diouf Acquisition brought excitement to the club and he was touted as the man to bring the trophy home after a 12-year drought and a second place finish behind Arsenal the season before.

The fans heaped praises on Diouf after he scored a stylish brace on his debut in a 3-0 win over Southampton at Anfield. The cheers quickly turn boos because the Liverpool faithful had to wait seven months for his next goal which came in a 2–0 win against Bolton Wanderers. Things agonizingly took a turn for the worst in a UEFA Cup match against Celtics Diouf spat at a fan in frustration in the 87th causing a huge crowd fracas.

He subsequently picked up a two-match ban and was fined two weeks wages with Liverpool donating £60,000 to the charity of Celtic’s choice.

Diouf’s lack of goals was also marred with an unbearable attitude on and off the pitch that saw him ended up scoring only 3 goals  in 55 appearances, 13 yellow cards and 1 red card in his single season at Anfield. He was later loaned out to Bolton Wanderers after which he was singed on a permanent deal.

His outlandish behavior followed him throughout his career landing him in several “hot water” with coaches, fans, and police. He later retired in 2017 and now runs his own sports newspaper, gymnasium and ambassador and advisor on to Senegalese President Macky Sall in Senegal.