Fernando Torres and the Players Who Lost Their Mojo
Fernando Torres' career trajectory probably hasn't gone quite the way he planned.
Granted, the Spanish striker has won a World Cup, two European Championships, a Champions League and a Europa League title, but his performances have been on the wane since his British transfer record move to Chelsea in January 2011.
After finding himself loaned out to Milan this season, Nando is now finding himself surplus to requirements in Italy, according to Neil McLeman in the Mirror.
Nando isn't the only star to have a bright spark of a career slowly diminish—here are 10 other players who lost their mojo.
Kaka
1 of 10
During his pomp at AC Milan, Kaka was undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the world. The gifted Brazilian midfielder was the World Player of the Year in 2007, and he led the Rossoneri to a Scudetto and Champions League glory.
After fending off the advances of Europe's elite clubs, Milan finally sold their megastar to Real Madrid in June 2009, where his unveiling was almost immediately eclipsed by that of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sadly, Kaka completely failed to live up to his price tag and reputation in Spain, a decline that wasn't helped by Jose Mourinho taking tactical focus away from him.
He was released by Los Blancos in 2013 and now, at the age of 32, is looking forward to his debut MLS season with Orlando City.
Mario Balotelli
2 of 10
Sometimes, a player with a tumultuous personality is worth putting up with because of the magic he can provide on the field.
This certainly used to be the case with Mario Balotelli, who rose through the ranks at Internazionale before earning a big-money move to Manchester City. There, his 13 league goals in the 2011-12 season helped City clinch the Premier League, and we were then treated to his very best form at Euro 2012.
Since the European Championships, however, Super Mario has been getting gradually less super. After one-and-a-half reasonable seasons at Milan, Balotelli finds himself dropped from the Liverpool team where he has had 35 shots on goal in the Premier League without scoring at all, as per ESPNFC.
He might turn it around, but Mario seems to be getting the better of himself these days.
Robinho
3 of 10
It is not rare for a Brazilian to be dubbed "the next Pele," but Robinho was hyped by the man himself during his rise at Santos.
After dazzling at Real Madrid, the skilful forward became Manchester City's club record signing in January 2008. He showed moments of brilliance, but has ultimately been in a state of decline since his arrival in England.
Like Torres, he was sent to Milan to start afresh, but he has since been sent back to his childhood club Santos.
Francis Jeffers
4 of 10
Francis Jeffers made his England debut on the same day as Wayne Rooney. That game against Australia proved to be Jeffers' only international cap, and he has since had rather different fortunes than his fellow Liverpudlian.
Jeffers was once dubbed "the fox in the box," who earned an £8 million move to Arsenal in 2001 after some consistently impressive performances with Everton.
However, a mixture of injuries and attitude problems meant he failed to shine with the Gunners, and he has slowly worked his way down to League Two level, with a few jaunts in Australia and Malaysia.
Adriano
5 of 10
Up until around 2005, Adriano was one of the most fearsome strikers on the planet. Based on his status as one of the brightest stars in world football, the Brazilian earned himself a contract extension with Internazionale.
Soon after that deal was struck, however, Adriano's mojo started to leave him. He struggled with alcoholism, often missed training and was engaged in many regrettable extra-curricular activities.
Inter let Adriano take unpaid leave several times to deal with personal issues, and when he failed to return from international duty in 2009, his contract was rescinded.
For some years, Adriano has made headlines for the wrong reasons, such as the time he accidentally shot a woman outside of a nightclub and recent drug charges.
Roque Santa Cruz
6 of 10
Following two highly prolific seasons with Blackburn Rovers, Roque Santa Cruz was in good enough form for Mark Hughes to get out his chequebook to spend £17.5 million bringing him to Manchester City.
Despite being given such a big stage to perform on, the Paraguayan striker completely failed to match his previous form, scoring just three league goals in his debut season.
He was slowly shunted out of the door when Roberto Mancini didn't take to him and is now on the books at Malaga. Like many players on this list, the 33-year-old's career was killed by the pressure of a big-money move.
David Bentley
7 of 10
Santa Cruz isn't the only Premier League star to have peaked at Blackburn.
After rising through Arsenal's youth ranks, David Bentley developed into one of the most exciting wingers in the country at Ewood Park. He famously marked his first game as a permanent signing with a stunning hat-trick against Manchester United.
Bentley earned a £15 million move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 and started brightly, but eventually saw his place in the starting XI being awarded to Aaron Lennon instead.
He subsequently found himself putting in cameo loan performances for Birmingham City, West Ham United, FC Rostov and Blackburn before finding himself out of contract in 2013.
After a year out of the game, Bentley retired in October at the age of 29, citing a lack of passion.
Michael Owen
8 of 10
Michael Owen grew up in the Liverpool academy and dazzled the world when he broke through to the first team at the age of 17.
At the 1998 World Cup, the striker scored one of the greatest individual goals in the history of the England team, and he continued to impress for club and country until he made a move to Real Madrid in 2004.
Owen failed to adjust to life in Spain and came back to England after a single season, joining Newcastle United. Injury blighted his career and he became a shadow of his former self during spells at Manchester United and Stoke City.
Shaun Wright-Phillips
9 of 10
Shaun Wright-Phillips, the adopted son of Ian Wright, started his career at Manchester City, where he showcased some phenomenal skill. The diminutive winger showed so much potential, in fact, that Chelsea spent £21 million to bring him to Stamford Bridge in July 2005.
In London, Wright-Phillips lacked the aptitude for goal he had previously shown, a trend that continued when he eventually made his way back to City in a cut-price deal in 2008.
Now at Queens Park Rangers, the once-great player is battling injury and hasn't kicked a ball this season.
Ricardo Quaresma
10 of 10
It is difficult to think of a player whose career has been more of a letdown than Ricardo Quaresma's.
The Portuguese star dazzled at Sporting Lisbon, playing in the same setup as fellow tricky winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
Quaresma seemed destined to go to the very top, but as he progressed through teams such as Barcelona, Internazionale, Chelsea and Porto, it became more clear that his powers were deteriorating. He had devolved into a selfish player capable of a rare flash of brilliance.
At the age of 31, he now finds himself in his second stint at Portugal, following relative exile at Al Ahli.
