As the top competition in football, the five major European leagues have many giants and stars, and giants such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, and Manchester City enjoy a high reputation all over the world. However, the big teams often have many top stars, and the competition within the team is also extremely fierce and the pressure is huge. Coupled with the team's tactics, injuries and other reasons, many outstanding players had no choice but to leave, but they ushered in a rebirth in the new team and became the core players of the team.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The 34-year-old Marseille striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been in excellent form this season, contributing 28 goals and 11 assists in 49 appearances in all competitions, and has been voted the best African player in Ligue 1 for the 2023-24 season. Born in June 1989, Aubameyang has scored 331 goals in his career with AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea.
After the highlights of Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal, he suffered a career waterloo at Barcelona and Chelsea, scoring just 16 goals in three seasons and just three goals in one season at Chelsea. In the summer window of 2023, Aubameyang left Chelsea and signed Marseille on a free transfer.
In Ligue 1, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found the second spring of his career, leading the number of goals and assists by a large margin, and became the absolute core of the team's forward line. Despite being knocked out 4-1 by Atalanta over two legs in Marseille's Europa League semi-finals, Aubameyang's performances this season have been beyond reproach.
De Ketelaere
In the summer of 2022, Belgian midfielder supernova De Ketelaere joined Serie A giants AC Milan from Club Brugge for a transfer fee of 32 million euros. His arrival has sent the Milan fans cheering, with many seeing him as the new Kaka and hoping he can lead the team to the heights it once deserved. However, the young Belgian midfielder was completely lost in the spotlight, scoring just 0 goals and 1 assist in 40 appearances, and was criticised by the outside world and his personal self-confidence was also dealt a heavy blow.
AC Milan loaned him out to Atalanta in the off-season without undue attention in the spotlight, and the 22-year-old Belgian midfielder has put his talent on full display, contributing 13 goals and nine assists so far this season. Under his leadership, Atalanta are currently fifth in Serie A. Maintaining this ranking will qualify for the Champions League next season. Atalanta have also reached the final of the Europa League and will compete with Bayer Leverkusen for the title.
As one of the core of the team, De Ketelaere, Atalanta is full of praise for him. It has been reported that Atalanta have decided to activate De Ketelaere's buy-out clause and will spend up to €27 million to keep the 23-year-old young star in the team for a long time.
Isco
In July 2013, Isco, a talented midfielder in Malaga who was known as Europe's golden boy at the time, officially joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of 30 million euros. Isco has developed into a world-class attacking midfielder at Real Madrid, making nearly 250 appearances for the team, helping to win 19 trophies, including five UEFA Champions League trophies, and was worth nearly 100 million euros at one point.
However, Isco has gradually fallen behind in the fierce competition in the Real Madrid team, and his style of play requires him as the core of the midfield to make the most of his strengths, which is obviously difficult for Real Madrid to achieve. In the end, Isco was swept away by Real Madrid in August 2022, and his short four-month spell at Sevilla ended in failure.
With the help of Betis coach and former mentor Manuel Pellegrini, he has returned to the top of his career at Betis, contributing 9 goals and 7 assists so far, and has won the best player of 19 games. With his help, Betis finished 6th in La Liga and have a strong chance of reaching next season's Europa League. Due to his excellent performances, Isco has successfully renewed his contract with the team until 2027.