The Great Debate: What is football's most damaged reputation? | OneFootball

Harry Maguire has had another week to forget, with England boss Gareth Southgate forced to publicly defend the Manchester United man after his latest error with an own goal against Scotland.

It has been quite the fall for the man who broke the world transfer record for a defender, while his club team-mate Jadon Sancho is also suffering from a similar hit to his once glittering image.

Which is why we are asking which footballing reputation has suffered the most damage? Let us know your answers in the comments below.

Dan Burke

Cast your mind back to 2017 and Philippe Coutinho had the world at his feet. The Brazilian had shone over several seasons in a burgeoning Liverpool side and the first half of that 2017/18 campaign had yielded an impressive 12 goals and eight assists.

It was enough to convince Barcelona to make Liverpool a €135m offer they couldn’t refuse, and in January 2018 Coutinho swapped Anfield for Camp Nou in a move that seemed destined to be a success.

Had Coutinho been asked back then where he saw himself in five years, the answer surely would not have been Qatar, but that’s where he now finds himself having recently signed for Al-Duhail following underwhelming loan spells at Bayern Munich and Aston Villa.

He did win the Champions League with Bayern to be fair, but it’s difficult not to view Coutinho’s post-Liverpool career as a tale of wasted potential.

Lewis Ambrose

Remember when England used to fail to compete at international tournaments? You knew what you would get every summer: dull football and an exit against the first decent nation they faced.

Like when they faced Germany in 2010. Likewise, you knew what you’d get from that Germany side. After disappointment in the early 2000s, Germany revamped and were ol’ reliable when it came to tournament football. From 2006-2016 they reached at least the semi-finals in six consecutive tournaments. And all that after they were runners-up at the 2002 World Cup as well. And Euro ’96 winners.

Turns out, the Germany ‘crisis’ of the early 2000s really wasn’t that bad at all. But things are now. The national team have suffered a decline out of nowhere, are no longer that perfect tournament side and find themselves managerless nine months out from hosting the Euros where nobody is backing them for glory.

Pádraig Whelan

While Maguire and Sancho are attracting a lot of unwanted attention, another former team-mate of theirs at Old Trafford has endured a nightmare over the past two years of his career.

Paul Pogba left United last summer on a free transfer after displaying inconsistency on his return, moving back to Juventus where his career trajectory has sadly continued to plummet.

He made just one start last season in an injury-plagued campaign (clocking up just 161 minutes over its entirety), suffered from a blackmail attempt off the field and this week, has tested positive for a banned substance which may result in a lengthy ban.

Peter Fitzpatrick

Another member of this motley crew with a connection to Manchester United.

It may feel harsh to include Lukaku on this list given he sits atop the EURO qualifiers goalscoring charts (eight) but that stat helps summarise what some of the Belgian’s biggest critics level at him: he can be a flat-track bully who struggles on the biggest of stages, with high-profile misses in the World Cup and Champions League final last season.

This summer saw Inter fans turn their back on him after he secretly discussed a move to bitter rivals Juventus, whose own fans protested against his signing. Everyone at Chelsea wanted to wash their hands of him just two years after breaking the bank to secure his services.

He now finds himself the latest lost soul aboard José Mourinho’s footballing Flying Dutchman at Roma. A redemption arc is possible but time is running out for the 30-year-old.