Bryan Ruiz Never Found His Way at Fulham

The year was 2011 and Costa Rican midfielder Bryan Ruiz was one of the most in demand players in European football.

Many Premier League clubs were after him, including Newcastle United, who were favored to sign him but Fulham began negotiations on a possible move and it eventually happened.

It happened on transfer deadline day. First Raul Meireles joined Liverpool from Chelsea, Per Mertesacker signed with Arsenal and then Ruiz agreed to a deal to move from FC Twente to Fulham.

The supporters of the Cottagers were understandably excited, as the playmaker debuted against Blackburn Rovers. Ruiz helped FC Twente win the Eredivisie and had an incredible stint there but he had a hard time making an impact in London, scoring just two goals in 27 games.

Then-manager Martin Jol trusted Ruiz and kept him for the following season and he played much better, scoring five goals with nine assists in 29 games as he began to adjust to the pace of the Premier League. In 2013–14 Ruiz scored an incredible goal against Cardiff City and many thought it was finally going to be his year but he played just 12 games and had just that goal. The Cottagers decided to loan him to PSV Eindhoven and he thrived in the Eredivisie once again to earn his way back to Fullham.

Fulham had a dreadful campaign that ended with relegation to the Championship and while they had a mass exodus of players, they kept Ruiz for one more season, desperate to finally get something out of him but he struggled and scored just four goals in 29 games. Fulham didn’t return to the Premier League that year and Ruiz was allowed to leave and join Sporting CP in 2015.