Di Maria, Higuain, Shevchenko: Nine world-class players that failed in the Premier League

Many of the world's top footballers come to the Premier League to prove their worth. Over the years, numerous world-class players have successfully established themselves in England's top flight, but that isn't always the case.

The Premier League is considered by many to be the top league in world football, and many football fans will dismiss a player's achievements if they have failed to ever grace English soil. So naturally, for a large number of footballers, England is the dream destination.

But there have been plenty of players, including elite level talents, who have failed to prove their worth in the league, and the dream destination has quickly become a nightmare.

So without further ado, let's take a look at nine world-class players who failed to live up to the reputation they had established elsewhere after joining the Premier League.

There's no denying Higuain is a world-class striker, his spells at Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus were filled with goals. In the 2015/16 season, the Argentinian netted an incredible 36 goals in 35 Serie A appearances for Napoli.

Then-Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri brought the striker to the Premier League on a loan deal from Juventus after previously managing the forward at Napoli. But his short stint in the Premier League was ultimately a failure, with a disappointing return of just five goals in the 14 league appearances he made for the Blues.

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Manchester United forked out £60m to bring the Argentinian winger Di Maria to Old Trafford, and fans were thrilled after he got straight down to business. He won United's Goal and Player of the Month award in September, but unfortunately, the winger failed to build on his successful first month.

The