Greatest betrayals (in football)

[horsechoker]

Players who betrayed their previous club by joining their fiercest rivals

Probably the most famous and quite a strange saga

Maybe the most famous English one?

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Alan Smith.

Carlos Tevez.

Michael Owen.

 

[duffer]

Denis Law.

 

[harms]

He's too magnificent not to be loved by both sides, but Michael Laudrup beating Real Madrid 5:0 as a Barcelona player in 1993/94 season, switching sides and winning another classico with the same score of 5:0 in the following season was such a fascinating story.

Johan Cruyff's final "feck you" to the Ajax's management (that didn't offer him a new contract) was quite memorable as well — he had joined Feyenoord and won a domestic double with them as well as getting voted Dutch Footballer of the Year for the fifth time before finally retiring.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Luis Enrique ?

 

[GhastlyHun]

Poland getting Lewandowski injured while he's on the way to break Gerd Müller's Bundesliga goal record, and ahead of the top match against Leipzig.

 

[Skills]

I think you mean the greatest heel turns in football

 

[FootballHQ]

George Graham going to Spurs was quite a weird one although he didn't go directly from Arsenal to Spurs. Was an odd few years in his career given how it all ended at Arsenal (rumoured he had Arsenal mosaic at bottom of his swimming pool when he managed Spurs).

Did fine there but sold Ginola which upset people and was sacked six months later and not wanted as a manager since then.

OP nailed it with Figo and Sol Campbell though, did they happen in the same summer? Campbell was linked with loads of cubs abroad and Man. United IIRC so his move to Arsenal came totally out of the blue although can understand it from personal point of continuing to live in London and also big success in the trophies he won.

That whole summer with Figo was just jaw dropping in audacity from Real Madrid.

 

[horsechoker]

I think you mean the greatest heel turns in football

Figo joining Madrid is the football equivalent of Hulk Hogan joining the NWO

 

[Oldyella]

Definitely Sol Campbell. All the noise about staying and then does one to your closest rivals!

 

[Synco]

Neuer going to Bayern as a Schalke ultra, and ending up being loathed by ultras from both sides was funny (and bizarre).

 

[Physiocrat]

Figo joining Madrid is the football equivalent of Hulk Hogan joining the NWO

So true

 

[Synco]

Also funny:

 

[Gibb11]

Still don't understand the Figo transfer, why did he agree to it? and I don't understand how much power perez had over him, a lot said he looks like he didn't want to be there at the begining really?

 

[The Purley King]

Didn't Figo get a pigs head thrown at him from the stands when he returned? Seem to remember that from somewhere.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Leeds selling Cantona to United. To me they betrayed themselves

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Still don't understand the Figo transfer, why did he agree to it? and I don't understand how much power perez had over him, a lot said he looks like he didn't want to be there at the begining really?

Perhaps it was the infamous "indemnity clause" rumour
. That claimed if Figo turned down the move he'd have to pay back what Real put up o pay his buy out clause....

 

[padzilla]

I remember Mo Johnston causing a tiny stir by posing in a Celtic kit ahead of a return to the club and then signing for Rangers instead.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.

*spits on ground

 

[nuanced]

• Collect a 'loyalty' bonus, then turn around and invite another club to trigger your release clause.
• 'Se Queda'.
• Barsa and Tebas having a massive meltdown.
• Neymar went from being in the shadow of Messi to competing for being a team's best player with a twenty something Mbappe.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

 

[duffer]

Didn't Figo get a pigs head thrown at him from the stands when he returned? Seem to remember that from somewhere.

Yeah, that happened. You can see it under the "V" in Vodafone, it was only a little one...

Courtois had a load of toy rats chucked at him from Atletico fans after he joined Real Madrid.

 

[do.ob]

Götze moving to Bayern and the story breaking on the night before their semi final against Real was causing a lot of hate, more than I have ever seen for a footballer. As far as I know people were harassing his father (who was a professor at the local university) during class and Götze himself rather warmed up in the player's tunnel than on the pitch when he first returned.

Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.

*spits on ground

born in England

grew up in England

never played for a foreign club

 

[André Dominguez]

Figo was one of the most memorable. He was Barcelona's captain! But on the other hand, REal offered him a huge wage boost and Barcelona got a world record breaking fee at the time.

 

[WeePat]

He's too magnificent not to be loved by both sides, but Michael Laudrup beating Real Madrid 5:0 as a Barcelona player in 1993/94 season, switching sides and winning another classico with the same score of 5:0 in the following season was such a fascinating story.

Johan Cruyff's final "feck you" to the Ajax's management (that didn't offer him a new contract) was quite memorable as well — he had joined Feyenoord and won a domestic double with them as well as getting voted Dutch Footballer of the Year for the fifth time before finally retiring.

Laudrup told a story of being in a Spanish airport once and he was stopped by a man and his son and the father asked his son, 'do you know who this man is?' and the kid was like 'five zero five zero'. If Laudrup was a nobody who told a story like this on twitter, people would be relentlessly tagging @DHOTYA

 

[2 man midfield]

David Villa being let go by Barca, only to move to Atletico and beat them to the league the next season is one I've always liked. Looks like history could be about to repeat itself with Suarez too.

 

[balaks]

Just saying the name Sol Campbell makes me angry to this day.

 

[horsechoker]

Just saying the name Sol Campbell makes me angry to this day.

 

[BlackShark_80]

Greaves probably up there, not directly from Chelsea to Spurs but still one of the reason why Chelsea fans hated Spurs so much.

 

[gormless]

Luis Enrique ?

He’s so associated with Barca in my head I had no idea he had played for Real.

 

[FootballHQ]

Actually would probably add Delph going to Man. City from us.

Probably a few will do a double take at that as from a football point of view it was completely right move going from relegation threatened team to one right at the top....but he changed his mind about 100 times that summer. Came out and said he was staying and Villa was "my club" etc then 6 days later was quietly having a medical at City.

Was the same as say that summer Gerrard was torn whether to leave Liverpool for Chelsea and if he'd left after saying he was staying at Liverpool 100%.

He won a few things there but at age of 31 now basically in semi retirement and drawing his pension at Everton anyway.

 

[arnie_ni]

Ashley Cole?

 

[RashyForPM]

Doesn’t matter that he went to Marseille instead, but Heinze attempting to force his way out to Pool was revolting.

Sol Campbell and Luis Figo are now still genuinely hated by Spurs and Barcelona fans respectively, for very obvious reasons.

Götze moving to Bayern and the story breaking on the night before their semi final against Real was causing a lot of hate, more than I have ever seen for a footballer. As far as I know people were harassing his father (who was a professor at the local university) during class and Götze himself rather warmed up in the player's tunnel than on the pitch when he first returned.

born in England

grew up in England

never played for a foreign club

Grealish was fine, but even as an England fan, Rice switching never sat well with me. You can’t play senior football for two different countries. It’s just weird.

Fair enough about Gotze. Lewandowski too actually, although his contract did run out.

 

[FootballHQ]

Still don't understand the Figo transfer, why did he agree to it? and I don't understand how much power perez had over him, a lot said he looks like he didn't want to be there at the begining really?

I think from what I remembered at the time Figo and his agent simply didn't believe Perez would actually pay the release clause (40m was about 150m now in 2000 in transfer fee terms) so they were both taken aback and thought it was all bluff and so when it was paid he was effectively released from Barca contract and had no choice.

In terms of football move it was probably right as Barca had won a few leagues but always come up short in CL and they had some really poor seasons after he left even with Rivaldo still around whereas Real Madrid won leagues and european cup in 2002.

 

[SuperiorXI]

fecks sake mate you need to spoiler shit like that this is going to cost me some new underpants as the ones I was just wearing are now stinky

 

[KiD MoYeS]

born in England

grew up in England

never played for a foreign club

Then why play for Ireland in the first place?

 

[duffer]

Greaves probably up there, not directly from Chelsea to Spurs but still one of the reason why Chelsea fans hated Spurs so much.

I've honestly never heard that as a reason Chelsea fans hate Spurs.

 

[charlenefan]

Mikel? Not that any United fans are bothered now

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Sol Campbell to Arsenal was a good one. Even went on a free to maximise his wages. Tory through and through.

 

[GazTheLegend]

I remember Raheem Sterling's transfer ENRAGING both Liverpool fanatics and the British press, which may actually just be two sides of the same coin. Big part in why the guy got harassed relentlessly for years. Seems to be finally abating now