20 Players Whose Transfer Value Dropped on World Cup Performance

Imagine if the David Luiz transfer had been conducted after the World Cup rather than before.

In early June, the £50 million paid to Chelsea by Paris Saint-Germain was still an eyebrow-raiser, but by the time Brazil had lost to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off it seemed nothing short of outrageous.

Hindsight, huh?

Thankfully, a good many clubs will have waited until after the tournament to do the majority of their transfer business, and for the following players that is unlikely to be a good thing.

Here are 20 footballers whose values will have dropped on their performances over the past month.

Last summer, Aston Villa reportedly pondered a £10 million swoop for Nurnberg attacker Hiroshi Kiyotake, according to the Daily Mail.

But given the Japan international’s poor World Cup, the relegated German outfit will be lucky to get anywhere near that for the 24-year-old over the next few weeks.

Just a heads-up—this list will not make good reading for Manchester United supporters.

In the days before the World Cup kicked off in Brazil, the Manchester Evening News reported Marouane Fellaini had been put up for sale.

Unfortunately for United, their £27.5 million acquisition didn’t exactly light up the tournament, which means they can expect to take a significant hit on him if they choose to sell.

Nani was a ghost against Germany, scored the opener against the United States and then disappeared for the remainder of the World Cup.

Club side Manchester United had reportedly been shopping him to Juventus, as per the Daily Mirror, but after a forgettable tournament the Portugal winger may be set to stay at Old Trafford, after all.

Prior to the World Cup, the Daily Mirror reported that Inter Milan were interested in signing Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

The Nigeria midfielder then went out and played a very average tournament, which was somewhat surprising given his starring role in the Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2013.

Should the Blues still opt to move him along this summer, they’ll surely be getting less for the 27-year-old than they would have before the competition, or even in January.

The roll call of unimpressive England performers is a long one.

Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck started the Three Lions’ Group D matches against Italy and Uruguay and managed to do little of anything. Any transfer he makes now will suffer as a result.

According to the Daily Mirror, the 23-year-old has previously entertained the notion of forcing a move away from Old Trafford, although after his poor World Cup the Red Devils will be unlikely to get a significant fee for him.

It was less than a year ago that Kevin-Prince Boateng joined Schalke from AC Milan for €12 million. But if the Bundesliga outfit had ever fancied moving him along, they’d likely be taking a hit on that fee given the 27-year-old’s indifferent display in Brazil.

The Ghana midfielder might have been a key player for the Black Stars at the World Cup. Instead, he was benched to start against the United States and then had a woeful outing against Germany.

Several days later he and teammate Sulley Muntari were sent home.

Valencia had a terrific World Cup for Ecuador. Only, it wasn’t Antonio. It was the unrelated Enner, who has since joined West Ham United (per Sky Sports).

Antonio Valencia, meanwhile, had a disappointing tournament, and as a result he'll no doubt be glad he agreed an extension to his contract at Manchester United before La Tri went out at the group stage.

Premier League rivals Liverpool had been reportedly interested in signing the 28-year-old, as per the Daily Mirror, and United may now regret not having let him move on after last season, albeit not to Anfield.

Miguel Veloso could be set for an extended stay at Dynamo Kiev following a sub-par showing at the 2014 World Cup.

In 2012 he quit Genoa for the Ukrainian outfit, and if Dynamo were to entertain selling the 28-year-old now they’d surely be looking at a hit on their €7.5 million outlay.

South Korea’s unimpressive World Cup campaign will have deflated the transfer values of several Taegeuk Warriors.

If, for example, Bolton Wanderers were still thinking of moving Lee Chung-Yong to Hull City, as per the Hull Daily Mail, they’d likely now be anticipating a smaller fee than they might have got before the tournament.

Having been cut loose by Arsenal in the spring, Park Chu-Young will have looked at the World Cup as an opportunity to play his way into a lucrative contract at another club.

It didn’t work out that way for the attacker.

Withdrawn after 56 unimpactful minutes against Russia, he was again substituted after less than an hour against Algeria before failing to feature at all against Belgium.

Should CSKA Moscow ever decide to cash in on playmaker Alan Dzagoev, and find that the offers aren’t quite what they had expected, they can place some of the blame at the feet of Fabio Capello.

The Russia manager didn’t hand the creative Dzagoev a single start at the 2014 World Cup, opting instead to bring the Euro 2012 hero off the bench in all three group stage matches.

Rennes has long been regarded as an excellent training ground for up-and-coming players who are inevitably moved on from the diminutive Ligue 1 side as they enter their prime.

But John Boye, who came through the club’s “B” squad, will have seen his value plummet following a difficult World Cup campaign for Ghana that included an own goal against Portugal.

Back in March the Daily Mirror speculated that Manchester United attacker Shinji Kagawa was about to be sold back to Borussia Dortmund.

In any event, the Japan international’s inability to settle at Old Trafford was always going to make him a candidate to leave the club, although a poor World Cup will have surely diminished his value on the transfer market.

After an indifferent display against Ivory Coast, the 25-year-old was reduced to the role of substitute against Greece and then was part of the Blue Samurai side that got trounced by Colombia.

Javier Hernandez was a bit player for Mexico at the 2014 World Cup, just as he was for Manchester United during the 2013-14 club campaign.

According to the Daily Mirror, both Valencia and Inter Milan are keen to sign him, and after failing to make any sort of impact in Brazil, the 26-year-old could be available at a cut-rate price.

Few players were as important to Nigeria’s World Cup hopes as Emmanuel Emenike. So it follows that his disappointing few weeks in Brazil had more than a thing or two to do with the Super Eagles’ exit at the round of 16.

In early July, as per The Independent, Chelsea reportedly offered Fenerbahce £15 million for the striker—a fee that could already reflect the 27-year-old’s inability to make an impact at the tournament.

It’s no secret that Barcelona have been shopping Alex Song, and just as the World Cup began the Daily Mirror reported that Manchester United were still interested in acquiring him.

They’re likely not anymore.

The 26-year-old’s tournament ended almost as quickly as it began—with a red card in Cameroon’s second group stage match against Croatia.

In the spring, The Guardian speculated that Zenit St. Petersburg forward Hulk could be on his way to Chelsea.

But after failing to score a single goal at the 2014 World Cup, and being at least partially scapegoated for Brazil’s 7-1 defeat to Germany, it’s unlikely Zenit will ever be able to recoup the €60 million they spent on the 27-year-old in 2012.

Edinson Cavani didn’t score a single goal from open play at the 2014 World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker’s only contribution was a successful penalty conversion against Costa Rica, after which he went missing.

On Tuesday the Uruguay striker reportedly told his agent to find him a club in the Premier League, according to The Independent, although at this point it’s unlikely the Ligue 1 champions would be able to get anywhere near the €64.5 million they paid Napoli for his services last summer.

Mario Balotelli was a non-factor for Italy at the 2014 World Cup.

His display in Brazil, coupled with an enigmatic personality and erratic season at AC Milan, has seen the Rossoneri slash their asking-price for the 23-year-old, with £14 million the latest price tag, according to the Daily Mirror.

It’s hard to think of any player who experienced as drastic a drop in value during the 2014 World Cup as Romelu Lukaku.

Pencilled in as Belgium’s starting striker following the pre-tournament injury to Christian Benteke, the 21-year-old managed to play himself out of manager Marc Wilmots starting XI before fizzling out in a cameo appearance against Argentina in the quarter-finals.

The Guardian has already reported that Liverpool are keen to sign Lukaku from Chelsea, and with his poor World Cup now overshadowing an impressive season at Everton they may be able to get him on the cheap.