In 2012, football magazine FourFourTwo compiled a list of the 20 footballers 'on the cusp of greatness' and the list has started going viral with some of their predictions being spot on and others failing terribly.
The world was a very different place eight years ago and in football we were only just being introduced to some of the players who are now the best in the world.
In the November edition of their magazine that year FourFourTwo put together a list of the 20 footballers 'on the cusp of greatness,' one Reddit user pulled the list out and it's an interesting mix of results.
Raheem Sterling
Eden Hazard
Nick Powell
John Guidetti
Ross Barkley
Lorenzo Insigne
Stephen El Shaarawy
Alvaro Morata
Cristian Tello
Paul Pogba
Radamel Falcao
Iker Muniain
Isco
Joao Moutinho
Yann M'Vila
Younes Belhanda
Oscar
Ganso
Lucas Moura
Leandro Damiao
'Greatness' is a very grandiose level to live up to and it could be argued that only Raheem Sterling and Eden Hazard have reached, or are about to reach, that level out of the whole list.
That's not to say there aren't some other excellent players in the 20 but only the Manchester City forward and the Real Madrid star have got close to that level.
Paul Pogba might disagree but his lack of consistency at Manchester United would certainly work against him claiming 'greatness,' despite a World Cup win with France.
There's some real failures on the list with Nick Powell's time at United, having signed from Crewe that summer, not going well at all.
The midfielder found his level at Wigan and moved to fellow Championship club Stoke City last summer.
John Guidetti, Yann M'Vila, Younes Belhanda and Ganso haven't really been anywhere near greatness in their careers either.
Oscar might be the most disappointing name in the list just because of what might have been. He moved to Chelsea that summer and looked like he would be a great player.
The Brazilian spent five years in the Premier League and did pretty well but in 2017 he moved to the Chinese Super League, aged just 25, and ended his chances of being 'great.'
Interestingly the article said that Falcao was 'Primed for the Prem' but he'd arguably already peaked in his spell at Atletico Madrid in 2012 and his time in England with both Chelsea and United was a complete bust.
Which player did you tip for greatness but it didn't work out?
source https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-fourfourtwos-20-players-on-the-cusp-of-greatness-from-2012-20200110
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