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Lifting the Premier League trophy is something that every player that plies their trade in England aspires to, but only a select few are lucky enough to experience the pleasure of doing so. However, while the euphoria of being a Premier League champion represents one end of the spectrum, the fear of relegation to the Championship looms on the opposite end.
The battle to avoid relegation is a hard-fought one every season, often coming down to the tiniest of margins.
While it is rare for a player’s career to showcase such a stark contrast in fortunes, there are some notable players who have experienced both extremes over the course of their careers. With Liverpool recently ending an agonising 30 year-long wait for a top-flight title, a number of players can now call themselves Premier League champions.
However, among their squad of champions, there are a few who have also experienced first-hand the anguish that comes with relegation. Their journey, as well as that of other prominent players before them, from the lows of relegation to the highs of title winners shows the importance of not giving up, as well as the value of a discerning scouting department that is able to identify individual prowess in an otherwise unsuccessful squad of players.
As such, here is a list of 5 proud Premier League champions that had to bounce back from relegation heartbreak before eventually going on to lift the title:
#1. Andy Robertson
From playing in the lower echelons of Scottish football to winning the Club World Cup, Champions League, and Premier League, Andy Robertson’s footballing journey can serve as an inspiration for many.
However, before reaching these highs with the Reds, Robertson had to endure the heartbreak of relegation from the Premier League just three years prior to lifting the coveted trophy!
Robertson made the switch from Scotland to England in 2014, moving from Dundee United to Hull City, where he quickly cemented a place in the starting lineup. He was instrumental in winning the Tigers promotion to the English top flight in 2016 but could not prevent them from being relegated back to the Championship a year later.
However, his energetic displays and excellent crossing at left-back caught Liverpool’s eye as he signed for the Reds at the end of the 2016-17 season, which proved to be an inspired signing. Not only has he lifted multiple trophies with Liverpool, where he forms what is perhaps the most formidable full-back pairing in the world with Trent Alexander-Arnold, the 26-year-old has also been appointed as the captain of the Scotland national team.
#2. Michael Carrick
One of the most accomplished passers of the ball that England has ever produced, Michael Carrick enjoyed a highly successful playing career. The majority of his success came during his time at Manchester United, where he collected every domestic honour in the English game, with a couple of European and global titles to boot.
However, despite winning the Premier League no less than five times and with Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, and FIFA Club World Cup winners medals adorning his trophy case, Carrick’s trophy-laden career started with a disappointing relegation.
As a product of West Ham’s highly respected youth system that produced the likes of Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, and many more big names, Carrick became a first-team regular for the Hammers in the 2000-01 season. Even though his performances in midfield saw him scoop up a number of individual accolades over the next couple of seasons, West Ham suffered the heartache of a shock relegation in the 2002-03 season.
As a number of first-team regulars departed West Ham, Carrick stayed with his boyhood club in the old First Division and was even named in the PFA Team of the Year for the First Division that season. However, the Hammers lost in the playoff final to be denied a return to the Premier League, which finally prompted Carrick to move to Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent a couple of seasons before his switch to Manchester.
#3. Georginio Wijnaldum
Known for his excellent work rate, dogged determination, and ability to come up with crucial goals in the clutch, Georginio ‘Gini’ Wijnaldum has endeared himself to the Liverpool faithful since his arrival at Anfield in 2016. A youth product of Feyenoord, Wijnaldum enjoyed success in the Eredivisie at PSV before making the switch to England, moving to Newcastle in 2015.
His debut season in England was a great success for Wijnaldum on a personal level as he scored goals galore, including a four-goal haul in a 6-2 home win over Norwich City. Although the Dutchman ended the season as Newcastle’s leading goalscorer, his personal achievements did not translate to success for the team as the Magpies were relegated to the Championship.
However, his goal-scoring exploits from midfield caught the eye of Premier League sides as he was picked up by Liverpool on a five-year deal in July 2016. The midfielder has since gone on to become one of the club’s most valuable, if somewhat underrated, assets, playing his part in several memorable victories and lifting multiple trophies along the way.
#4. Marcos Alonso
When Marcos Alonso arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2016, not a lot of people would have realised that this would be the Spaniard’s third spell in the English Premier League. In fact, such was Alonso’s impact at left wing-back for Antonio Conte’s title-winning side of 2016-17 that his previous spells at Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland were all but forgotten.
Even though Alonso is still a regular starter at Chelsea under Frank Lampard and is undoubtedly more likely to be part of another title win before another relegation, it was his spell at Bolton in 2011-12 that saw him experience the agony of the drop.
The former Real Madrid starlet made the unlikely switch from the Santiago Bernabeu to the Reebok Stadium in July 2010, slowly establishing himself as a first-team regular. While his own performances in a Bolton shirt steadily improved, his team’s fortunes declined as they suffered a heartbreaking relegation by just one point on the final day of the 2011-12 season.
Alonso stayed with the club during their 2012-13 Championship campaign and was one of their stand-out performers, delivering consistent displays at left-back and chipping in with important goals as well. His excellent display prompted Fiorentina to bring him to the Serie A, where he amassed over 70 appearances and squeezed in a loan stint at Sunderland before Chelsea brought him back to England for good in 2016.
Alonso has put his relegation heartbreak behind him during his time in London, where he has won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Europa League with the Blues.
#5. James Milner
James Milner has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the English top flight and shows no signs of stopping even at the age of 34. The veteran midfielder was one of the youngest players in Premier League history when he made his debut for Leeds as a 16-year-old in 2002 and even became the league’s youngest-ever goalscorer at the time.
He has since gone on to represent Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Liverpool in the Premier League, where he still remains. There have been a lot of highlights throughout Milner’s storied career - he was a part of two Premier League wins as well as an FA Cup and a League Cup win at City before adding a Champions League, Club World Cup, and, most recently, another Premier League title to his trophy cabinet with Liverpool.
However, before becoming one of the most successful players in English football history, Milner’s footballing journey kicked off with relegation heartbreak in the Premier League at boyhood club Leeds.
It was in the tumultuous 2003-04 campaign that Milner went down with Leeds, with the club’s fortunes on the decline. Although he did not want to leave the club, financial problems forced Leeds to sell off a number of first-team players, with Milner moving to Newcastle on a five-year deal.
Since then, he has cemented his reputation as one of the most hard-working and versatile players ever to feature in the Premier League, having played at a number of positions all over the field during his career.
Having been deployed all across the midfield, his determination, tenacity, and dynamism made him the prime candidate for an “emergency” alteration, popping up as a striker, right-back, and left-back at various times.
