5 top footballers who have played in five or more European clubs

Loyalty has rarely been found in the football world with gems like Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs and AS Roma legend Francesco Totti, who chose to stick to their boyhood club till the end of their career being exceptions.

However, not every player would like to wake up in the same city, go through the same practice routines and play in the same league year after year until they retire. Sticking to one club may aid the success of a player but history has proved that there have been many high profiled players who chose to take another path.

Some world class players had made it a habit to hop from club to club in search of new challenges, often being called journeymen in the process. Here are five big names who made a place for themselves in the long list of journeymen.

#5 Samuel Eto'o (7 European Clubs)

Samuel Eto'o during his time at Inter Milan

Samuel Eto'o is a former Cameroon skipper and undoubtedly Africa's most decorated footballer. His prowess at scoring from difficult positions in crucial games made him one of the most feared strikers of his generation. He has played in a total of 13 clubs out of which 7 being European Clubs.

Eto'o started his career at Real Madrid's youth academy in 1997 before he moved to Barcelona. It was his four-year spell at Mallorca which earned him a move to the Catalan Giants. He made 145 appearances for FC Barcelona scoring 108 goals in just five years. He then moved to Italian side Inter Milan where he performed incredibly well and won his third Champions League title.

Soon after, he moved to Russia with Anzhi Makhachkala only to return to English side Chelsea in 2013 for a one year deal. At the end of the tenure, he joined fellow English side Everton which he left halfway through the season and moved to Italy's Sampdoria.

#4 Andy Cole (13 European Clubs)

Andy Cole has literally hopped from one Premier League side to another throughout his career. He has played in a total of 12 English clubs, but had his most prestigious run during his tenure at Manchester United where he scored 93 goals and won many trophies in a span of six years. He also helped them win the glorious Treble in 1998-1999.

He made his debut as a Gunner but joined Newcastle United in 1993 for two seasons before his move to Manchester United in 1995. In 2001, the forward moved to Blackburn Rovers where he netted 27 goals in three seasons followed by the start of his quick shifting journey where he played for Fulham, Manchester city, Portsmouth and Sunderland for one season each.

Although Andy Cole was unable to stick his foot to one club for a long time, he has swept many honours in the English game and is also the third highest goalscorer in the Premier League history.

#3 Rivaldo (5 European clubs)

Rivaldo stayed at Barcelona for the longest time

The Brazilian has won almost all the trophies one can win in a lifetime for club and national side. He has played in a number of countries including Spain, Italy, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Greece and Angola making him the most famous widely traveled player in the history of the game.

Rivaldo stayed at Barcelona for the longest amongst his other clubs, winning a number of major trophies for the Blaugrana. In the five years that he played in Spain, he scored 130 goals for the club and won the greatest individual honour in football world, the Ballon D'or.

After the 2002 World Cup, he refused to continue his deal with the Spanish side and made a move to Italian giants AC Milan where he was unable to live upto his name. The midfielder was soon given out on loan, resulting in his move to Olympiakos which gave him an opportunity to leave his mark in Greek football.

#2 Ronaldo (5 European Clubs)

At the peak of his career, Ronaldo was unarguably one of the most dangerous strikers the world had ever seen. He played like a winger but did so at the center of the pitch with great ease which made him a big threat to every opponent he faced.

He started his European career at dutch side PSV where his outstanding performance caught the attention of Spanish giants resulting in his move to Spain. He spent only one season at FC Barcelona scoring an incredible 47 goals in 49 games, and became the youngest player ever to win the FIFA World Player of the Year at the age of 20.

He then moved to Inter Milan for five years before returning to the Spanish Capital to become one of the few players to have played an El Clasico for both sides. He netted 83 goals for Real Madrid in a span of five years followed by his move to his former club's arch rivals AC Milan in 2007.

#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8 European )

Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time at FC Barcelona

The 37-year-old striker has performed incredibly well for all the European giants he has played for without taking much time to settle in. Ibrahimovic is among the very few players to have played in five different European leagues.

The Swedish legend started his career at Malmo club in the late 1990s before being signed by Dutch side Ajax for a fee of €8 million. He then excelled in Serie A after his move to Italian side Juventus. After two astounding seasons, he was sold to rivals Inter Milan where he gave stellar performances game after game bagging 57 goals for the club.

At Inter Milan, he made a name for himself which resulted in his transfer to Barcelona in 2009. However, he did not stay there for long and moved back to Italy in 2010 to play for his former club's city rivals AC Milan in a record deal which made him one of the highest paid players in the world.

Zlatan's next destination turned out to be France where he won four consecutive Ligue 1 championships in four seasons with Paris Saint-Germain becoming the all time leading goalscorer of the the club at that time. In 2016, the Swedish journeyman took another challenge and made a move to England to play for Manchester United. After tasting success in England, he took off for MLS where his very first goal "Zlatan'd" the whole of the United States.