Messi, Hazard, Lukaku: The most disappointing XI of 2021/22

Lionel Messi, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Maguire all line up in our most disappointing XI of the 2021/22 season.

As the current campaign gathers pace towards the climax of key competitions like the Premier League and Champions League, the landscape of which players have shone and which have struggled becomes clearer and clearer.

It’s no secret that expectations are brutal in the beautiful game, so it’s only natural that even players at the highest level, who you might even call world-class, have an ‘off season’ every now and again.

Whether that’s down to moving clubs, changing positions, simply not being at the races or matters entirely non-football-related, there are always a few players who fall short of what you expected them to achieve.

And the 2021/22 campaign has been no different because for every European star who has burst onto the scene and made a name for themselves, there’s a star whose stock has fallen in tandem.

So, as the current season on the continent gradually draws to a close, we’ve taken a closer look at the players who have raised eyebrows and dropped jaws by performing below the level that was expected of them.

Our ‘Most disappointing XI of the season’ is not what we consider to be the worst line-up of 2021/22, far from it, but rather the players whose performances have been the furthest below what was anticipated.

As such, it’s critical to bear in mind that there is an element of both fan and media culpability here where it might not always be the player’s fault with the disappointment actually coming from too much hype or excitement.

And that leads to a situation where all of the players in the XI are incredibly, incredibly talented as greater quality leads to greater expectations in turn, so don’t