Former stars of Premier League clubs including Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and West Ham have gone on to achieve hero status in the Turkish Super League.
Notable Premier League title winners, such as Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba, and Edin Dzeko, moved to Turkey in their later careers, but some argue that none of them achieved as much success there as players who never achieved the same level of legacy in English football.
Here are seven players who had disappointing performances in the Premier League before achieving greatness in the Turkish Super Lig.
Davinson Sanchez
It would be unfair to categorize Sanchez as an outright failure at Tottenham.
The Colombian had his standout moments during his over 150 appearances for Spurs, but it's also accurate to say he never fully lived up to the expectation of becoming "one of the best centre-backs in the world" as hailed by Mauricio Pochettino upon his return in 2017.
It was initially expected that he would one day take over as Tottenham's defense leader following the departure of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, but he never achieved this goal and instead left for Galatasaray in 2013.
Many people who watch him regularly in the Turkish Super League are convinced he's a world-class player.
“Sanchez is a superior centre-back compared to Van Dijk,” claimed Galatasaray legend Servet Cetin in September.
“Sanchez has a one-on-one style of play. He has a fast pace, operates in a wider area and rarely misses his mark. He performs a much more challenging role. He releases the ball very effectively. Sanchez is a significantly more effective defender than van Dijk.”
“Maybe people will say nonsense, but it doesn’t matter if it’s Liverpool. For instance, Sami Hyypia moved to Turkey and wasn’t well-received. So, Sanchez is superior to Van Dijk and many other central defenders in the Premier League.”
To be fair, Sanchez has been a solid defender as Galatasaray won the Turkish Super Lig title with a record 102-point total last season. And he’s once again stood out this season as they aim to retain their title ahead of Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Fabio Borini
Label Borini a flop in Sunderland and see what happens. Didn't you see those goals in the mid-2000s Tyne-Wear derbies?
Despite his legend-making aspirations, the Italian striker had a relatively modest record in the English football league. He scored only one Premier League goal for Liverpool and never managed more than seven goals for Sunderland, who were relegated in the 2016-17 season.
After similarly underwhelming seasons in Serie A with AC Milan and Hellas Verona, Borini experienced a resurgence at Fatih Karagumruk. He particularly excelled in the 2019-20 season, scoring 20 goals and providing nine assists in just 30 Super Lig matches.
Currently, he is back in Italy, struggling to score goals at the once powerful Sampdoria. The number of goals he scored in Turkey is particularly noticeable when considering his overall career statistics.
Mame Biram Diouf
The former Senegal international failed to reach his full potential during his time at Manchester United after joining the club as a young player from Molde in 2009. He didn't make a significant impact on loan at Blackburn Rovers and, despite his hard work, scored only 25 goals in 157 appearances for Stoke City, which was not up to expectations.
Diouf left the Bet365 Stadium for Hatayspor, a team in the Super Lig, in 2020, after Stoke had become accustomed to life in the second tier. It was there that he achieved the best goalscoring record of his career, scoring 19 goals in 38 Super Lig appearances in the 2020-21 season and 12 goals in his second year.
He's had a remarkable season, considering he scored just 13 league goals in total over the past five seasons with Stoke.
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Bafetimbi Gomis
Nostalgia can be a pretty potent feeling. You might see a classic goal circulating on Twitter, accompanied by that iconic celebration, and mistakenly recall Gomis as a legendary player from the late Barclays era.
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However, let's be realistic, he was consistently pretty poor for Swansea City. He averaged a goal every 256 minutes in the Premier League, scoring only 13 goals in two full seasons.
After departing Swansea in 2017, Gomis experienced a remarkable resurgence at Galatasaray. He propelled them to a Turkish Super Lig title in his inaugural season and earned the Golden Boot with 29 goals. He then spent four years competing in the Saudi Pro League before returning to Galatasaray to secure another league championship.
Alexander Sorloth
To be fair, Sorloth's career has been marked by a rollercoaster of ups and downs, making it unfair to judge him solely on his struggles in the Premier League or his successes in Turkey.
After scoring 23 La Liga goals for Villarreal last season, Sorloth made a significant transfer to Atletico Madrid and has been a crucial player for Diego Simeone's title-contenders; the highlight so far being a notable last-minute winner away to Barcelona.
This 29-year-old Norwegian player is a rare example of a player who's returned to a major European league after spending time in Turkey and is performing well.
After failing to score a single goal in 16 Premier League appearances for Crystal Palace, Sorloth found his form with 24 goals in 34 appearances while on loan at Trabzonspor in the 2019-20 season. This impressive performance led to a transfer to RB Leipzig, where he struggled initially before finding success in Spain.
The ultimate hit-and-miss footballer?
Enner Valencia
We can't decide which of Valencia's Premier League spells was more disappointing. Eight goals in 54 games for West Ham or three in 21 at Everton.
The Ecuadorian player was absent from the football scene for three years, playing for Tigres UANL in Mexico from 2017 to 2020. He then joined Fenerbahce and had the best period of his career, scoring 59 goals in 116 games.
He was especially effective in front of goal in his third and final season, having scored 29 goals in just 31 Super Lig matches for Jorge Jesus' team. They were narrowly edged out of the title by Gomis' Galatasaray, but they did manage to win the Turkish Cup that year.
Michy Batshuayi
Valencia wasn't Fenerbahce's star of the 2023 Turkish Cup final. The player who stole the show was his strike partner Batshuayi, who scored both goals in their 2-0 win over Istanbul Basaksehir.
The lovable and lively Belgian international may have faced difficulties in scoring goals at Chelsea and Crystal Palace, but he found his footing in Turkey. Since 2021, he has represented all three of the Super Lig's top-tier teams – Besiktas, Fenerbahce, and Galatasaray – and consistently scored at least ten goals.
In addition to the Turkish Cup with Fenerbahce, he won a Super Cup with Besiktas and is on the verge of completing the set this season with Galatasaray. He struggled for opportunities and has recently moved to Eintracht Frankfurt, but he will qualify for a winner's medal if – or when – they reach the finish line.