In football, the likes of Steven Gerrard and Francesco Totti – footballers who have stayed at one club for their entire playing career – are rare. When players get the opportunity to play at a bigger club, more often than not, they take it. This leaves their former teams with a tough task to replace their departed stars. However, some teams have mastered this art.
Numerous factors decide a player's replacement. A clever execution of the sale of the departed player provides more money for new options, while roping in young talent could save money and ensure a bright future. Having an organised academy setup also provides an alternative option for replacements.
Despite all these factors, some European clubs overcome the loss of players adroitly and maintain their status in their respective leagues. Here are five such teams:
#1 Ajax
Ajax is regarded as one of the biggest clubs in Europe with a rich history. This club sold two strikers who are/were the best at their job at their peak in Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while other star footballers like Christian Eriksen, Wesley Sneijder, and Rafael van der Vaart were also sold to bigger European clubs.
Despite this, Ajax have won the Dutch league five times in the last twelve years. They have also added a couple of KNVB Cup trophies as well. All this, despite selling Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Just imagine what they could have done together!
Ajax’s brilliant youth academy has helped ease the burden of players leaving. According to a survey in 2015, 77 players who trained at Ajax were playing in the highest tier of European leagues, compared to 57 from Barcelona’s La Masia academy.
The academy - De Toekomst (The Future) has produced talents like Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, the De Boer brothers and others. This continued grooming of young talent has helped them to maintain their dominance in Dutch football.
#2 Lille
Lille won the French Ligue 1 and the French Cup in the 2010-11 season. Moussa Sow was their top scorer, and he racked up 31 goals in 54 appearances but left in the summer. The title-winning squad consisted of Eden Hazard, Adil Rami and Yohan Cabaye, among others. Eden Hazard was stunning for the French outfit the following season, but they couldn’t keep hold of him and was eventually was sold to Chelsea in 2012.
Dimitri Payet was their main man next season, but he was then sold to Marseille, while former Chelsea man, Salomon Kalou, also left in the summer. Other notable departures include Cabaye, Rami, Divock Origi and Stephan Lichsteiner.
Lille have not reached the heights of the 2010-11 season since, but haven’t done badly for a club deprived of its star players. Since that season they have finished in the top three twice and haven’t dropped out of the top eight. They even had the electric Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a brief loan spell. Talk about a lost lottery.
#3 Atletico Madrid
One would associate mid-table clubs in this list, but Atleti deserve their place. They have greater financial depth, but it has been used commendably at the Vicente Calderon.
Atletico won the league in 2014, however they immediately lost their star forward Diego Costa to Chelsea. As a replacement, they acquired Antoine Griezmann from Real Sociedad and groomed him into becoming one of the top 3 players in the world!
Costa was not the first high-profile striker to leave Atleti. Radamel Falcao and Sergio Aguero, who were brilliant in Spain’s La Liga, left for Monaco and Manchester City, respectively. But Atletico replaced them quite well. David de Gea, Arda Turan, Diego Forlan, Mario Mandzukic were a few other stars to leave the Spanish capital. But they replaced them with Thibaut Courtois, Yannick Carrasco and Costa. Like for like? You bet.
Atletico broke the Barca-Real dominance in 2014 and it was no fluke. They made the Champions League final twice and were title challengers in each of the past two seasons.
#4 Southampton
Southampton were promoted to the Premier League in 2012, and barring their first season after promotion, they have finished in the top half. This feat becomes more commendable when the steady flow of players out of St Mary's is considered.
The Saints sold £135.5 million worth of talent over 12 months. Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, two standout performers of the 2012/13 season, joined Liverpool in the summer of 2014. The Merseysiders would come back to raid the Saints and signed Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren and the latest recruit from Southampton, Sadio Mane.
Morgan Schneiderlin and Luke Shaw were snapped up by Manchester United, while Victor Wanyama joined another big club in Tottenham. Graziano Pelle was one of the many European stars to be wooed by Chinese money and moved to Shandong Luneng in July 2016.
Despite these losses, they qualified for the Europa League in 2016. Youngsters like James Ward-Prowse and shrewd signings like Pierre-Emile Højbjerg have stepped up.
#5 Sevilla
Sevilla have bought well, sold well but have also won trophies. The Spanish side are the three-time defending Europa League champions, and have achieved this with numerous changes to their side.
They have won eight trophies in nine years along with a €160 million profit from player sales during that period. During this time, the fans have witnessed some high-profile players leave the club. Dani Alves, Carlos Bacca, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas, Luis Fabiano, Alvaro Negredo are some of the many names.
Kevin Gameiro was the most recent player to leave the club. He was their main man last season and his departure to Atletico Madrid left many wondering who could fill the gap. However, new signings Wissam Ben Yedder and Luciano Vietto have stepped up.
Sevilla are performing well in La Liga and have also done well in Europe.
