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Over the years, many top players have changed clubs for various reasons, like seeking a new challenge or becoming surplus to requirements.
The shelf-life of a top player is short. So players try to give themselves the best chance to win big titles by moving to a bigger club. But sometimes it so happens that players leave their clubs to join a direct rival, which antagonizes fans of the first club.
On that note, here's a look at ten world-class players, in no particular order, who moved directly to a rival club:
#10 Johan Cruyff (Ajax to Feyenoord) - 1983
Johan Cruyff is widely regarded as one of the most skilful players to have graced the sport.
The on-field proponent of Rinus Michels' revolutionary 'total football' philosophy, Cruyff lifted Ajax from mediocrity to European powerhouses in the early 70s. The versatile forward then moved to Barcelona, where he immediately helped the club win their first La Liga title in more than a decade.
After a hugely successful stint at Camp Nou, Cruyff played a few years in the USA before returning to Ajax in 1981. The then 36-year-old scored 16 times across competitions in two seasons before his relationship broke down with Ajax's top brass.
Cryuff moved to Ajax's domestic rivals Feyenoord in the summer of 1983. He immediately inspired them to their first Eredivisie title in a decade before retiring from the game the following year.
In later years, Ajax and the late Cruyff would mend fences, with the club renaming their stadium the Johan Cruyff Arena two years before Cruyff's death in 2018.
#9 Ashley Cole (Arsenal to Chelsea) - 2006
Ashley Cole is one of the best left-backs to have graced the Premier League. A two-time Premier League winner with Arsenal, Cole was part of the Gunners' Invincibles team that won the 2003-04 league title without losing once.
After almost a decade at the club, the then 25-year-old Cole made one of the most acrimonious transfers when he moved to Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea. It was speculated that Cole moved across the city because the Blues doubled his wages. That further enraged the Arsenal faithful.
The former England international would go on to achieve more success at Chelsea. He won the Premier League title in 2010 and four FA Cups to add to the three he had won at Arsenal.
#8 Clarence Seedorf (Inter Milan to AC Milan) - 2002
Clarence Seedorf is one of the most decorated midfielders in the history of the game, especially in the Champions League. The former Dutch international is the only player to win the continental competition with three different clubs.
After making his name at Ajax and then at Real Madrid, Seedorf returned to Serie A in 1999, joining Inter Milan. He had played a lone season in the competition with Sampdoria in the mid-90s.
Seedorf then made the transfer to Inter's crosstown rivals AC Milan three summers later. Unlike other transfers between direct rivals, this was a swap deal between the two Milan clubs, with Francesco Coco moving the other way.
As things turned out, Seedorf would reach greater heights with the Rossoneri. He won two Champions League and as many Serie A titles during a highly successful stint in the red-and-black half of Milan.
#7 Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea) - 2011
Fernando Torres was one of the hottest strikers on the planet during a highly successful stint at Liverpool in the late 2000s. But eyebrows were raised when Chelsea splurged £50 million to acquire the striker in the winter of 2011.
However, the then most-expensive player in English football largely failed to replicate his Liverpool heroics at Stamford Bridge. Torres scored just 45 times in almost 180 games across competitions. But his most memorable moment in a Chelsea shirt came when he scored a fabulous solo goal that helped the Blues beat Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League semis.
A game later, Chelsea would win their first title in the prestigious club competition, beating Bayern Munich in the final on penalties.
#6 Robin van Persie (Arsenal to Manchester United) - 2012
Robin van Persie is one of the most illustrious strikers to have graced the Premier League. The now-retired Dutchman scored almost 150 goals in the competition and won the Golden Boot award with two different clubs.
Van Persie (30) scored almost one-third of Arsenal's league goals in 2011-12 to win the Golden Boot. However, the Gunners finished a distant second, 19 points off the leading duo of Manchester City and Manchester United. In one of the most thrilling Premier League title races in recent memory, City pipped United on goal difference to win their first league title in several decades.
Recognizing the need for a proven goalscorer, United dished out £24 million that summer to land Van Persie from a direct rival. The Dutchman hit the ground running at Old Trafford. He scored 26 goals to win his second consecutive Golden Boot, helping United win their 13th and latest Premier League title.
Van Persie's returns diminished in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. He scored just 22 cumulative goals in the subsequent two campaigns before leaving United. He eventually retired at his boyhood club Feyenoord in 2019.
#5 Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich) - 2014
Robert Lewandowski is arguably the hottest striker in the game at the moment. The Polish striker first made his name during his four-season stint at Borussia Dortmund in early 2010s.
He produced three successive 20-goal campaigns, winning consecutive Bundesliga titles. That caught the attention of Bayern Munich, who snapped up Lewandowski on a free transfer in the summer of 2014. The rest, as they say, is history.
The 33-year-old has plundered all sorts of scoring records at the club, scoring over 300 goals across competitions. Last season, Lewandowski (41) broke the late Gerd Muller's record of most Bundesliga goals (40) in a single campaign.
The nine-time German top-flight winner is one of the very few players to win multiple Bundesliga titles with multiple clubs.
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus to Inter Milan) - 2006
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most prolific scorers in the game, especially since the turn of the century.
The 39-year-old has won league titles in four different countries and recently scored his 500th goal in club football. Ibrahimovic spent a modest two campaigns with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles.
However, the infamous Calciopoli scandal in 2006 meant Juventus were stripped of their title and demoted to Serie B. Unwilling to play in the second division, Ibrahimovic moved to Juventus' direct rivals Inter Milan that summer.
He won four league titles in as many seasons there. Ibrahimovic subsequently enjoyed stints at Barcelona, PSG, Manchester United and the MLS before returning to Serie A with AC Milan.
#3 Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan to Juventus) - 2011
Andrea Pirlo is one of the best midfielders to have graced the game. After a successful decade-long stint at AC Milan, Pirlo was inexplicably let go by the Rossoneri on a free transfer in the summer of 2011.
Juventus promptly snapped up the elegant midfielder. The rest, as they say, is history. Enjoying a late swansong, the then 31-year-old Pirlo would go on to four successive Serie A titles with the Bianconeri. In three of these four years, Pirlo was the Serie A player of the season.
Pirlo's illustrious teammate Gianluigi Buffon had termed his compatriot's arrival at Juventus as the 'signing of the century'. Considering Pirlo's exploits at the club, Buffon's statement proved to be an understatement.
#2 Luis Suarez (Barcelona to Atletico Madrid) - 2020
Luis Suarez is one of the most lethal scorers in the game, especially in the last decade or so.
After prolific stints at Ajax and Liverpool, Suarez enjoyed a glorious six-season spell at Barcelona. He scored almost 200 goals across competitions and won a continental treble.
However, after Barcelona endured their first trophyless campaign in more than a decade in 2019-20, Suarez was deemed surplus to requirements and was let go. That turned out to be a big mistake, as the Uruguayan rediscovered his mojo at Atletico Madrid, helping them win their first league title in seven years.
Now 34, Suarez is expected to play a stellar role as the Rojiblancos look to successfully defend their title.
#1 Luis Figo (Barcelona to Real Madrid) - 2000
Luis Figo is one of a handful of players to make a direct move between arch-rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Regarded as one of the best players in the game, Figo made a move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in the summer of 2000. That created a lot of resentment among the Blaugrana faithful. Figo was at the peak of his powers at Camp Nou, helping Barcelona win successive league titles. So his move to a direct rival - Real Madrid - enraged fans of the clubs.
At Real Madrid, Figo would go on to win two more league titles and a Champions League title before he retired in 2009.
