Football, the realm of glory and the spotlight, can also be unforgiving. In 2024, several players, once rising stars or established figures, have seen their careers take an unexpected turn. Relegated to the bench, sidelined for tactical choices or victims of the vagaries of their own trajectory, these talents were forced to watch the game from afar, rather than shine… A look back at some footballers who disappeared from the radar this year.
1. Paul Pogba
World champion in 2018, Pogba went through a very difficult year in 2024, marked by a huge scandal. The Habs were suspended for 4 years for a positive doping test, carried out in August 2023. The 31-year-old midfielder admitted to having consumed a food supplement recommended by a doctor friend in Miami, where he often spends his vacations.
A capsule which was fatal for his career, but ultimately short-lived. If Paul Pogba put football aside this year, he had to quickly prepare his crampons. Last October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that his sanction was finally reduced to 18 months, which means that Paul Pogba will return to the game next March. The Frenchman is now looking for a new European club, with one goal in mind: to play again for the France team. Several rumors are circulating, will he sign in Spain? In the Premier League? at OM? The suspense is at its peak.
2. Layvin Kurzawa
Where has Layvin Kurzawa, former left back of PSG, gone? Arriving in the capital in 2015, Kurzawa has disappeared from circulation since 2021. The French international was a starter under the Laurent Blanc then Unai Emery era, and even won several titles with the Parisian club. But due to his lack of consistency, his little playing time in recent seasons and his injuries, Kurzawa has gradually fallen into obscurity. He failed to establish himself sustainably at Paris Saint-Germain and the Frenchman was clearly no longer the club’s priority, as evidenced by his loan to Fulham. PSG decided not to extend the 32-year-old left back, who left in June 2024, after playing only 9 minutes this season.
At the heart of the transfer window last summer, “Layvin Kurzawa is open to any project, it is not a financial question, the most important thing today is that he can play football again.” his agent declared to French Football Weekly. More recently, Kurzawa reaffirmed to us during an interview that he trains hard and “looking forward to the January transfer window“. The year 2025 may be the right year for Kurzawa.
3. Marco Verratti
Another former Paris Saint-Germain player, Marco Verratti. The darling of PSG experienced a downturn in 2024. PSG sold him in September 2023 to the Al-Arabi club for the sum of €45 million. Like Kurzawa, Luis Enrique admitted that Verratti was not part of his plans either. But in Qatar, the 32-year-old Italian clearly does not make an impression. 21 matches played in all competitions for the 2023-2024 season and 7 assists delivered, but in silence. We are far from Cristiano Ronaldo’s performances with Al-Nassr.
The Italian international is almost in early retirement, his golden era is over and if his name gradually disappeared from the press, it recently reappeared for a rumor, to be taken with a pinch of salt. A return to his native country is mentioned, on the Inter side precisely, but Verratti has not confirmed any of this and could probably end his career peacefully in Qatar.
4. Serge Aurier
Serge Aurier is a completely unique personality in the world of football. Having played for RC Lens, Toulouse FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham, Villarreal and Nottingham Forest, the Ivorian stood out for his qualities as a right back, but also his strong character. He has also been guilty of a few slip-ups, the latest to date, his very original reaction to the 2024 Ballon d’Or, which he considers to be “the banana of the century”. Very offensive off the field, where is the native of Ouragahio on the green rectangle?
After Nottingham Forest, he joined Galatasaray in February 2024, but his Turkish adventure only lasted 6 months, knowing that he did not play a single minute in the first two months due to an injury. For the rest, it is a choice of the Turkish club which did not plan to continue with Aurier. Since then, no more news from the Ivorian international who has been without a team since the end of his contract with Galatasaray last July.
5. Keylor Navas
Keylor Navas, hero of PSG in the first years of his arrival, also seems to have disappeared from the radar. For the 2023-2024 season, he only played 4 matches in Ligue 1 and 2 in the Coupe de France. For good reason, the Costa Rican goalkeeper, who was one of the best goalkeepers in the world with Real Madrid, saw his role reduced at PSG with the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma. Last May, the goalkeeper announced his international retirement after 114 caps for Costa Rica. A few days before, the native of San Isidro had said goodbye to Paris Saint-Germain. After five years of good and loyal service, interspersed with a loan to Nottingham Forest, the former Real Madrid player left the French capital at the end of his contract.
Free and on the market, he was then determined to return to service, in vain. Navas is not giving up on the matter, however. He is clearly targeting the 2025 winter transfer window. While waiting to know his next destination, the 38-year-old goalkeeper is working hard.
Find our full selection of players in the video above.
