Joao Palhinha named Bundesliga’s biggest disappointment by fellow players

In a major player survey, Joao Palhinha was voted the most disappointing outfield player of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season.

Joao Palhinha has been voted the biggest disappointment among Bundesliga outfield players in Kicker’s traditional end-of-season player survey.

A total of 216 footballers from all 18 Bundesliga clubs took part in the anonymous poll, with 13.4 percent selecting Palhinha as the most underwhelming player of the season.

The Portugal international joined Bayern Munich last summer for a reported €51 million and endured a difficult debut campaign. Plagued by injuries and unable to secure a regular starting spot under Vincent Kompany, Palhinha struggled to live up to expectations.

Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt came in second with 10.2% of the votes, followed by Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface (6.9%), VfB Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav (5.6%), and RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons (4.6%).

At the other end of the spectrum, Florian Wirtz was named the most impressive outfield player, receiving 28.2% of the votes. 

The Bayer Leverkusen star narrowly edged out Bayern’s Michael Olise (26.4%), with Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy (4.2%), former Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush (4.2%), Bayern’s Harry Kane (3.7%), and Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade (3.7%) rounding out the top selections.

Mainz’s Robin Zentner was voted the league’s most impressive goalkeeper with 19.9% of the votes, while Bochum’s Patrick Drewes was chosen as the most disappointing goalkeeper, earning 13.9% of the votes in that category.