Footballer dubbed ‘quickest flop ever’ after snubbing £35m Premier League switch to Chelsea
The 27-year-old winger, who joined the Turkish giants in a deal worth around €44 million, turned down a rumoured £35m transfer to Chelsea in favour of a move to Turkey
He’s lost the ball . . .
One-time Chelsea target Rafael Leao is facing a barrage of intense criticism following a disastrous start to his career at Galatasaray, just weeks after rejecting a high-profile move to the Premier League. The 27-year-old winger, who joined the Turkish giants in a deal worth around €44 million, turned down a rumoured £35m transfer to Chelsea in favour of a lucrative new contract at former club AC Milan.
However, having failed to sign the contract, he joined the Turkish club where his early performances have left fans and pundits alike questioning his commitment.
Leao’s transition to the Süper Lig has been nothing short of a nightmare, with the forward currently registering zero goals and zero assists. The lowest point came during a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Trabzonspor, where the Portuguese international was heavily criticised for strolling around the pitch and displaying remarkably poor body language.
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‘Where’s the ball?’
Supporters on social media have not held back, with furious fans on a Turkish football forum sensationally labelling him the “worst foreign player in Süper Lig history” and others declaring the high-profile move the worst transfer the league has ever seen.
Top footballing expert and YouTuber Zealand weighed in on the controversy, diagnosing the winger’s struggles as a deep-rooted behavioural issue rather than a lack of talent. “The issue that Raphael Leo has run into throughout his entire career is the hardest issue to fix it’s caring It’s trying It’s the appearance of effort,” Zealand explained.
. . . annnnnd it’s gone
Assessing the player’s development at this stage of his career, he added: “He is who he is now… if you haven’t shown the signs of improvement by then if you haven’t solved the problems that you’ve had by then you’re not going to solve them.”
The statistics from the Trabzonspor match were particularly alarming for the Galatasaray faithful. Breaking down the winger’s woeful ball retention during the defeat, Zealand noted: “He lost possession 21 times That is nearly every four minutes for the entire 90 that Raphael Lea loses the ball.”
‘I miss the ball . . .’
Zealand further suggested that the player’s attitude towards his new club is at the centre of the problem, claiming the winger does not respect the standard of the division. “Raphael absolutely believes that he is too good for the Turkish League that going to the Turkish league was a bit of an insult that he’s done it mainly for the money,” he argued.
Delivering a stark warning about the player’s future trajectory if his effort levels do not drastically improve, Zealand concluded: “He could be out of top level professional football in like two years genuinely.”
