Playing in a World Cup is not only a huge honour for any player, it is also the chance to improve your career at club level.
The biggest event in world football is the perfect shop window to display your skills, with many big names taking advantage of such an opportunity down through the years.
Of course, basing your opinion of a player on such a small sample size can often have pretty disastrous results.
The practice has become less common in recent years, but there was a time when teams seemingly built their entire transfer strategies around major international tournaments.
There have been countless examples of players being signed due to their exploits with their countries only to then be quickly found at club level.
With that in mind, here are some of the worst signings made on the back of World Cup performances.
The Worst Signings Made On The Back Of A World Cup
James Rodriguez - Monaco to Real Madrid (2014)
Clubs have largely moved away from signing players due to their performances in major tournaments in recent times, although Real Madrid seemingly didn't get that message in 2014.
James Rodriguez was incredible during Colombia's run in the tournament in Brazil, winning the golden boot with a tally of six goals.
That convinced Real Madrid to hand out £63million to bring him from Monaco, making him the fourth most expensive players of all-time in the process. He never lived up to that price tag in the Spanish capital despite a promising debut campaign, making only 85 appearances in La Liga in a six-year spell (some of which was spent out on loan).
Still only 31-years old, he is currently on the books at Olympiacos after short spells at Everton and Al-Rayyan in Qatar.
His career has become somewhat of a cautionary tale for other young stars looking to make their mark in the game.
Asamoah Gyan - Rennes to Sunderland (2010)
Asamoah Gyan was the breakout star of the 2010 World Cup. Not many had heard of the Ghanaian striker prior to his nation's run to the quarter-finals in South Africa, although he would shine in the tournament.
Ghana were the width of the post away from becoming the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the event, with Gyan missing a penalty in the extra-time against Uruguay.
That didn't deter Sunderland from forking out a club record fee of £13million to sign him a few months later. It never worked out for him at the Stadium of Light, with the striker spending only one season in English football before moving to Abu Dhabi.
Denilson - Sao Paulo to Real Betis (1998)
In hindsight, Real Betis forking out a world record fee for a player looks a bit odd.
Denilson had starred in the World Cup in France that summer, helping to lead Brazil to the final. The Spanish club were forced to pay £21.5million to bring him across the Atlantic, with the player having just turned 21-years old.
The Brazilian would spend seven years in southern Spain, but he never lived up to that price tag. His second season with the club would see them relegated from La Liga, with the player sent on loan to Flamengo for the first half of their campaign in the second flight.
He would return to help them achieve promotion, but the remainder of his time at the club was spent largely as a backup player. He eventually left in 2005 for Bordeaux, becoming somewhat of a journeyman with moves to Saudi Arabia, the USA, Vietnam, and Macedonia.
El Hadji Diouf - Lens to Liverpool (2002)
A classic of the genre, Liverpool had actually already agreed the deal to sign El Hadji Diouf before his exploits at the 2002 World Cup. Still, it was at that tournament where the masses became aware of the player.
Arriving on Merseyside with an incredible amount of hype, he would go down as one of the worst signings in the club's history. Not only did he fail to perform on the pitch, his attitude was also a real problem as he was sent packing after only two seasons.
He has spent the last decade plus picking fights with his former Liverpool teammates in the media, with Jamie Carragher perhaps having the best response to that.
The other big difference is he's scored less goals for LFC in the Premier League than me! (Not counting OG's!!) https://t.co/dwEA56c7NA
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) February 25, 2016
Carragher would also label him as the worst player he had ever played alongside.
In all, probably not a great signing.
Kleberson - Atletico Paranaense to Manchester United (2003)
While not done directly after the tournament, it was Kleberson's performances at the 2002 World Cup that convinced Manchester United to bring him to the club.
They weren't to know that he would later go down as probably one of the worst players to ever lift the trophy.
He was a disaster at Old Trafford, making 20 Premier League appearances across two seasons before being shipped off to Besiktas. He somehow continued winning caps for Brazil right up to 2010.
Stephane Guivarc'h - Auxerre to Newcastle United (1998)
5 August 1998; Stéphane Guivarc'h is attended to by a physio during the friendly between Bray Wanderers and Newcastle United at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, Wicklow. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Signing the starting striker for a team that has just won the World Cup, what could possibly go wrong? Of course, a quick look would tell you that the Stephane Guivarc'h didn't actually score a goal at the tournament despite playing in front of the best midfield in world football.
That didn't stop Kenny Dalglish from paying £3.5million to bring him to Newcastle. He made exactly four appearances in the league for the club.
After Dalglish was sacked, Ruud Gullit quickly shipped Guivarc'h off to Rangers in November of that year.
Alberto Tarantini - Boca Juniors to Birmingham City (1978)
A 23-year old Argentine World Cup winner rocking up at Birmingham City a few months after lifting the trophy no doubt resulted in plenty of excitement. The fans weren't to know that he would leave the club in the disgrace soon after.
Tarantini had discipline issues throughout his 23-game spell with the side, both on and off the pitch. The final straw came when he jumped into the stands to punch one of his own supporters that had been heckling him during a game.
He moved back to Argentina after one season in England and would go on to win 61 caps at international level.
Oleg Salenko - Logrones to Valencia (1994)
Still the only player to score five goals in a World Cup game, Oleg Salenko would claim the golden boot at the 1994 tournament on the back of that performance against Cameroon.
They were the only goals he ever scored at international level, winning only eight caps for his entire career.
🇺🇸 On this day at USA ‘94…
Russia’s Oleg Salenko & Roger Milla of Cameroon both entered the record books.
Salenko became the first man to score five goals in one match & Milla, aged 42, became the oldest player to score at the World Cup finals.
Both records stand to this day. pic.twitter.com/gfSqNGEhVA— 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿 𝘾𝙐𝙋 𝙍𝙀𝙒𝙄𝙉𝘿 ⏪ (@WorldCup_Rewind) June 28, 2022
Goals were a bit harder to come by after moving to Valencia, with the club signing him from the now defunct Spanish club Logrones. He would manage to find the back of the net seven times in white, although that would be his only season with the team.
He was sold to Rangers a year later, going on to take in spells in Turkey and Poland before retiring at the age of 31.
Salif Diao - Sedan to Liverpool (2002)
Yeah, 2002 wasn't a great summer for Liverpool.
Salif Diao arrived an Anfield with lower expectations than international teammate El Hadji Diouf, and while he wasn't a complete disaster at Anfield, it was clear that he wasn't good enough to be playing for a club with title winning ambitions.
The midfielder was excellent for Senegal in the Far East, helping the team to the quarter-finals. Gerard Houllier was suitably impressed and decided to reunite him with Diouf at club level, only to then consistently play him out of position as a makeshift centre back or full back.
Rafael Benitez clearly didn't fancy him after his appointment, and although Diao would stick around long enough to be with the club for their Champions League triumph, he was not in the matchday squad in Istanbul.
He was sent on loan to Birmingham City that summer, eventually leaving on a permanent basis in 2007 for Stoke City.
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