According to Kicker`s traditional end-of-season survey among Bundesliga footballers, Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha has been identified as the biggest disappointment among outfield players.
The anonymous poll involved 216 players from all 18 clubs in the league. When asked to name the most underwhelming performer of the season, 13.4 percent of the respondents selected Palhinha.
The Portugal international joined Bayern last summer for a significant fee, reportedly around €51 million. However, his debut campaign proved challenging, being affected by injuries and struggling to secure a regular starting place under coach Vincent Kompany. This contributed to him falling short of the expectations set by his high-profile transfer.
Other players receiving votes for being the biggest disappointment included Borussia Dortmund`s Julian Brandt, who finished second with 10.2%. He was followed by Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen (6.9%), Deniz Undav from VfB Stuttgart (5.6%), and RB Leipzig`s Xavi Simons (4.6%).
In contrast, the survey also highlighted the season`s most impressive players. Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz topped this category convincingly, receiving 28.2% of the votes for the most impressive outfield player.
Wirtz was ranked ahead of Bayern`s Michael Olise (26.4%). Completing the list of highly-rated impressive players were Serhou Guirassy of Dortmund (4.2%), former Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush (4.2%), Bayern`s Harry Kane (3.7%), and Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart (3.7%).
The survey also covered goalkeepers. Mainz`s Robin Zentner was voted the league’s most impressive goalkeeper with 19.9% of the votes in his category, while Bochum`s Patrick Drewes was named the most disappointing goalkeeper, earning 13.9% of those votes.
