The former Arsenal skipper left the club in 2014 to join Barcelona and he is still contracted to the club and may even be offered a one-year extension after impressing Ernesto Valverde.
He is also part of Belgium’s World Cup squad. So then, how exactly did his career go downhill?
The Belgian’s first season at Barcelona sums it up. He made one appearance for the club during the entire season owing to injuries and still ended up as a treble winner.
Vermaelen’s career has been plagued with injuries since leaving Arsenal. In fact, he has been out injured for a period of 417 days after moving to Barcelona, and this includes the one season he spent on loan at AS Roma.
In the last four years, he has played just 53 games across all competitions for Barcelona and AS Roma combined of which only 36 were as starters.
At least, he’s still playing for a club in the Champions League.