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With the ongoing Robin van Persie transfer saga and a potential move to Manchester United in the works, let’s take a look at some other players who have also moved to rival clubs in the Premier League, tainting their names, losing the support and respect of their former fans and employees, in the process.
Ashley Cole was arguably the best left back in the world in 2005 and with an FA Cup win over Manchester United, the England international had now won 8 trophies with his boyhood club.
However, after being offered a minimal salary in his contract extension, which nearly made Cole crash his car after hearing the offer from his agent, things turned sour between Cole and the club officials.
Cole soon joined Chelsea for £5 million and William Gallas joining the Arsenal ranks, a year after the FA fined both Cole and Chelsea for discussing a possible move to Chelsea without the knowledge of the Gunners. He has been booed ever since by the Arsenal faithful – however, he relishes it.
Carlos Tevez.
Carlos Tevez was the darling of Old Trafford, scoring goals for fun and and playing his heart out for the team, but after securing the title in 2009, his advisers had informed Manchester United that he no longer wished to play for the club, despite the champions being ready to make the Argentine one of the highest earners at the club.
He then signed a 5 year contract with rivals, Manchester City, 7 kilometres down the road, becoming the first player since Terry Cooke in 1999 to move between the Manchester clubs, ultimately tarnishing whatever respect he had achieved in his two year spell at Old Trafford and becoming a hated figure whenever the two teams met.
Michael Owen.
Michael Owen was a Liverpool legend, having scored over a 100 goals and winning 6 trophies in an 8 year spell with the Merseyside club. Unable to win the Premier League title, he moved to Real Madrid and then, Newcastle United soon after, before becoming a free agent in 2009.
Where did he go to next? Liverpool’s north-west rivals, Manchester United, ultimately winning his first league title while also helping the Red Devils win their 19th league title, overtaking Liverpool’s 18. To make things worse, when asked how he felt about winning the title, he replied:
“They say if you can’t beat them, join them.” – Michael Owen.
Paul Ince.
The former England captain had won back to back Premier League titles along with 6 other trophies in his time with Manchester United before ultimately moving to Italy, joining Inter Milan.
After two years away from England, Ince surprisingly joined Liverpool for a fee of £4 million, angering the Manchester United faithful and rubbing salt into the wounds, he scored a last gasp equalizer in a 2-2 draw against his former side in front of the Kop. However, that year, United went on to win the treble.
Sol Campbell.
Probably the biggest signing from a rival club, not only due to Sol Campbell’s talent, but because he moved on a free transfer. Campbell was Tottenham Hotspur’s best defender and an England international.
However, he was a free agent in 2001, and with Spurs finishing no better than 7th in his time there along with his desire to play in the Champions League, made him reject a chance to become one of Spurs’ highest earners. He soon joined north London rivals, Arsenal on a free transfer, snubbing Inter Milan and Liverpool along the way and becoming only the 10th player to move between the two clubs.
This was despite Campbell stating in an interview one month earlier, that he’d never play for Arsenal – since he has been known as “Judas” for the Tottenham faithful, but he’s had the last laugh as his career reached new heights at Arsenal, winning 7 trophies, including 2 league titles.
