Sports

Three LaLiga players who failed to meet expectations

By Juan José Lahuerta

Madrid, Jul 20 (efe-epa).- The end of the 2019/20 LaLiga season brings with it the usual roll call of honorable mentions, such as Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema or golden boot winner and Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi, but it also offers a moment to reflect on those who failed to live up to expectations.

There were undoubtedly many, but the three candidates who stand out above the rest are Eden Hazard, Joao Félix and Antoine Griezmann.

Some of them have even recognized it themselves. Speaking to Franc Info before the final game of the season, Hazard said: “This has been the worst season of my career.”

His stats confirm it. An injury picked up in November ruled him out for 16 games just as he was getting a feel for the club.

He arrived that previous summer from Chelsea for a fee of around 100 million euros.

Due to the ankle injury picked up during a Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain, the Belgian midfielder was unable to leave his mark on the season. Thibaut Courtois, Sergio Ramos Benzema and even manager Zinedine Zidane were, however, able to fill the gap as the stars of the campaign.

In his first season at Madrid, Hazard featured in 16 games and scored two goals. The previous season at Chelsea, he featured in 52 and scored 21.

Another player who failed to live up to the hype this season was Joao Félix, who signed with Atlético Madrid for an eye-watering 127 million euros, making him the third-most-expensive transfer in history at the time, behind Neymar Jnr. and Kylian Mbappé (222 million and 180 million respectively).

Félix had some promising performances in the pre-season against Real Madrid, MLS All-Star and Juventus but as LaLiga got underway his goal scoring and assists became less regular.

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