5 players who, despite being signed, never made their debut

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Getting signed with a big football team doesn’t always means playing for the club

For many players in Latin American leagues, their dream is to play for renowned European clubs such as FC Barcelona or Real Madrid. However, reaching these instances does not ensure success, since, on some occasions, young promises do not even get to debut in these clubs despite being signed.

Leer en español: 5 futbolistas que fueron fichados pero nunca debutaron

1. Keirrison de Souza

A first example is the Brazilian striker of Palmeiras Brazil, who was signed by FC Barcelona in 2009, after paying 14 million euros, according to the newspaper Sport. However, Keirrison only wear Barcelona’s shirt on the day of the presentation, because, during his contract of 5 seasons, he didn’t have the Pep Guardiola’s full approval. 

This is how the player went through teams such as Benfica, Fiorentina, Santos FC, Cruzeiro, Coritiba FC for two seasons until he was free and finished signing for Londrina, a club in the second division of Brazil, according to Transfermarkt.

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2. Edwin Congo

The Colombian was a player in Once Caldas. In 1999, at the age of 22, he was hired by Real Madrid for 5 million dollars and a 3-season contract. However, he would pass his entire contract on loan to teams such as Valladolid, Vitória Guimarães of Portugal, Toulouse Tolouse, until being sold to Levante UD, ending his career in the Madrid team. 

It is claimed that his failure is due to having arrived in ‘Galatic’ era, in which he competed for the position against players like Anelka, Raúl, Morientes and Eto'o, according to Las 2 Orillas.

3. Roberto Ayala

The renowned Argentine player also did not wear Villareal's shirt in 2007, He arrived at the team on July 1 after having spent 7 seasons at Valencia CF. In this case, Ayala would only remain at Villareal for 16 days, since, at the time of his signing, he was playing the Copa América with Argentina. On July 17, the Argentine would pay his own clause of rescission of 6 million euros to be immediately signed by Real Zaragoza.

According to Ayala, he made this decision after talking with some teammates who were also part of Zaragoza, so he was convinced to sign for the Aragonese club, as reported by the newspaper As. There he would play three seasons until returning to Argentine football.

4. Rodrigo Fabri

Another Brazilian who came to Spain, in this case, Real Madrid would be the one who signed him for 8 million euros to Flamengo. Unfortunately, Fabri would only play a friendly match with the club before being loaned to several teams during his 5-year contract. 

He went through Valladolid, Sporting Portugal, as well as other teams from Brazil, but he was never considered for the white team. Eventually, he was until it was sold to Atlético de Madrid for 3 million euros, according to the web portal Esto es Atleti.

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5. Martin Demichelis

The most recent case, the Argentine central player arrived at Atlético de Madrid after expiring his contract with Málaga in 2013. Demichelis was presented by the club and said he was happy to reach an important team. However, 16 days after that presentation, the central would be signed by Manchester City, who paid 5 million euros to the Spanish team. Without playing a minute and having spent 50 days as the official player of the club, the player would leave for England to continue his career, newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported.

LatinAmerican Post | Juan Bacallado

Translated from: '5 futbolistas que fueron fichados pero nunca debutaron'