When Luca Toni swapped Italian giants Juventus for Dubai’s Al Nasr in 2012 there was much fanfare around the striker’s free transfer move to the UAE.

But six months, eight games and three goals later he was heading back to Italy on the back of a thoroughly disappointing venture to the emirates.

At the time Toni was 34-years-old but his record since that move, prior to the announcement of his retirement at the end of this season, proved he was still in his pomp.

A case in point is the now 38-year-old’s joint Golden Boot in Serie A last year, the veteran striker notching 22 goals for Hellas Verona.

It was an entirely different spell in the UAE as the 2006 World Cup winner failed to meet the high expectations that greeted his arrival.

He hit the ground running with a dramatic 79th-minute winner against Ajman on his debut, the signs pointing to his arrival being the coup Nasr dreamed of – as they sought a first AGL title since 1986.

However, just two more goals followed – in a 3-3 draw with Al Ahli and 5-3 win over Emirates Club – before Toni waved goodbye to the Blue Wave.

In total Toni netted five times in ten league (three goals in eight matches) and Etisalat Cup (two in two) fixtures but largely cut an uninterested figure on the pitch as Nasr ended up second in the then-titled Pro League.

The spell also marked a period of personal tragedy as the striker and his girlfriend Marta Cecchetto suffered the heartbreak of their first child being stillborn.

He went on to label the UAE league as “not true football” after Nasr boss Walter Zenga decided against keeping Toni on for the following season and releasing him from the club as one of its foreign quota.

Toni’s career will largely be remembered for his immense goalscoring prowess but in the UAE his legacy is one aligned with an era of overpaid foreign stars looking to earn a big pay cheque before calling time on their careers.