4) Alexander Hleb - Arsenal to Barcelona
Alexsander Hleb joined Arsenal in 2005 from Stuttgart for a fee of £15 million. An injury prevented him from playing regularly in his debut season but he nailed down a first team spot in 2006/07. Hleb immediately became a favourite, with the Arsenal fans making a chant in his name.
His best season came in 2007/08 when he formed an important partnership with Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas. His performances impressed Pep Guardiola and the coach decided to purchase the player.
It was a very surprising move considering how good he had been with Arsenal and also how he had just settled in the team. Unfortunately for the Belarusian, the move never worked out in Spain. He only made five appearances for the Catalans in his debut season despite the club going on to win the treble.
Later in an interview with Catalunya Radio, the midfielder spoke about his strained relationship with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola. “I was always fighting with Guardiola,I didn’t used to listen to him, he would say to take Spanish classes to integrate myself into the team, but I wouldn’t do them”
Hleb went on to play for 6 different clubs many of them being loan spells while still being under contract at Barcelona. He now plays for Gençlerbirlii in the Turkey
