A football debut. It's meant to be the grand entrance, the start of a glorious career. But for some of the biggest names to ever grace the pitch, their first taste of professional football was, to put it mildly, a disaster. We're talking red cards, own goals, and substitutions so swift you'd think they'd played themselves off the field.
Take Lionel Messi. Yes, the same Messi who captained Argentina to World Cup glory. Back in August 2005, as a fresh-faced teenager, he came off the bench against Hungary. What followed? A mere two minutes later, he was shown a straight red card for an altercation with defender Vilmos Vanczak. Reports say he even cried in the dressing room. Thankfully for him, and for football, that was just a blip on the radar of an all-time great.
Then there's Rio Ferdinand. Arriving at Leeds United in 2000 as the world's most expensive defender, the pressure was immense. His debut against Leicester City? A nightmare. Leeds conceded three goals in the first 28 minutes. Robbie Savage, Ade Akinbiyi, Gerry Taggart – they all scored. It was a rough introduction, though Ferdinand would later become a legend at Manchester United.
And who can forget Jonathan Woodgate's Real Madrid debut? After a long layoff due to injury, the English centre-back finally got his chance. Against Athletic Bilbao, he managed to score an own goal. And then, to top it off, he got himself sent off. It was a spell that, frankly, never really took off for him at the Santiago Bernabéu.
For Manchester City's Abdukodir Khusanov, his Premier League introduction against Chelsea was equally brutal. He misjudged an aerial ball, leading to a defensive header back towards his keeper, Ederson, which allowed Chelsea to score. A booking followed soon after for a foul on Cole Palmer. He was clearly struggling, and the manager pulled him off early in the second half. Luckily for Khusanov, City came back to win 2-1, saving him from an even worse fate.
Chelsea splashed £115 million on Moisés Caicedo, and his debut against West Ham was far from the statement of intent they'd hoped for. Brought on as a sub, he couldn't get into the game, made a few errors, and then, the killer blow: he conceded the penalty that sealed Chelsea's 3-1 defeat. But like many on this list, Caicedo eventually found his feet and became a key midfielder for the Blues.
Patrice Evra's first 45 minutes at Old Trafford, playing for Manchester United against Manchester City, were a baptism by fire. He found himself completely overwhelmed by Trevor Sinclair and was hooked at halftime. Sir Alex Ferguson’s famously intense hairdryer treatment was apparently the next step. Evra later confessed he wondered if he'd made a terrible mistake, but he sure answered that question by winning multiple titles.
Thiago Silva, now a respected figure at Chelsea, had a shaky start. His debut against West Brom saw him lose possession in his own half, leading to a Callum Robinson goal. Chelsea were down 3-0 by halftime. They did manage to fight back for a 3-3 draw, but it wasn't exactly the commanding start expected from the Brazilian superstar.
Joe Cole's Liverpool debut didn't last long at all. In a heated match against Arsenal in 2010, the England international saw red for a late challenge on Laurent Koscielny, lasting only 45 minutes. It wasn't quite the grand arrival Liverpool fans were dreaming of.
Then there's Gervinho. His first game for Arsenal against Newcastle ended in a red card after an incident with Joey Barton, turning his announcement to the league into a disciplinary headache rather than a goal-scoring spectacle.
And perhaps the most bizarre debut of all belongs to Ali Dia. In 1996, Southampton signed him after he apparently convinced them he was a professional footballer. His performance was so dire he was substituted after a brief, forgettable appearance. It remains one of football's strangest footnotes.
Finally, Saúl Ñíguez's loan spell at Chelsea from Atlético Madrid began with a tough introduction. His Premier League debut against Aston Villa was a baptism by fire, ending prematurely after a shaky performance.