Anfield is a magical stadium that has hosted several European nights of glory. Liverpool themselves are a special club which have made history with their comebacks and Champions League triumphs. Some of the world’s best have played for the Merseyside outfit. However, there have been Reds who did not perform the way in which supporters had hoped.
Five Players That Disappointed at Anfield
1. Ryan Babel
The over-six-foot-tall winger joined from Ajax after being developed by the Dutch club’s famed academy.
He won a handful of domestic and personal awards before moving to Anfield in 2007. His time as a Red, though, was not what pundits and supporters wished for.
146 appearances bore only 22 goals. Four trophy-less years in the Premier League eventually led to a TSG Hoffenheim transfer, before becoming a journeyman and playing across several continents.
2. Andy Carroll
31 goals with Newcastle United saw the Englishman join Liverpool the same year Babel was sold. Sadly, the most successful part of his career with the Reds was his loan to West Ham, his future club.
Carroll’s only trophy at Anfield was the League Cup and the striker netted only 11 times in 58 fixtures.
Now in the second division of France, the 34-year-old has not shaken off the distaste he is mentioned with whenever a Reds fan dares speak his name.
3. Robbie Keane
The Republic of Ireland star and now manager once played for the Merseyside outfit. An almost forgotten page of Liverpool history, Keane was part of the 2008/09 squad that failed to win a trophy.
He was a star with Tottenham on either side of his short stint at Anfield. 28 games brought only seven goals from the striker. A future LA Galaxy legend, the Irishman did nothing to build his legacy at Liverpool.
4. Iago Aspas
Another player who had successful runs with another club on either side of his short and unfruitful run with Liverpool, Aspas is also a player whose loan away from Anfield brought more trophies than his time as a Red.
14 Premier League matches was not enough time to score a goal for the Spaniard, but he won the Europa League with Sevilla when he was loaned away.
Still playing with Celta Vigo in La Liga, Aspas has scored over 200 goals with a prowess he never showed as a Red.
5. Mario Balotelli
No disrespect to the former Champions League winner, but did he impress anywhere he went? Balotelli certainly did not with Liverpool.
A career journeyman who played for the likes of Manchester City and both Milan clubs, the Italian striker scored only one Premier League goal after making 16 appearances.
This time, though, his loan to AC Milan was not more fruitful than his time at Anfield, and it seems the Reds got him at one of the worst times in his career.