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Loyalty seems to be a dying concept in football these days, and we increasingly see instances of footballers forcing a transfer to a rival club. Sometimes, it is the bigger paycheck, and at other times it is the promise of winning more silverware - or a combination of both that can make a player push for a move.
Irrespective of the reason - from a fan's point of view, it still hurts. It hurts to watch a player you cheered on for years and loved, wear the kit of a rival club.
With just over a month left for the January transfer window to open - we take a look at 10 of the biggest betrayals in football.
# 1 - Ashley Cole
Widely considered the best Left-back of the Premier League era - Arsenal academy product Ashley Cole, made his senior debut for the club at the age of 18.
Winning universal plaudits for his performances on the pitch, Cole helped the Gunners win 2 Premier League titles and 3 FA Cups during his time at the club.
However, it all fell apart when Ashley was up for a renewal of his contract.
Arsenal was only willing to pay him 55 thousand pounds a week while London rivals Chelsea (who Arsenal accused of tapping up Cole) offered him 90 thousand pounds a week to make the move to South-West London.
In a later interview, Cole said that the new contract offered by Arsenal left him "seething with anger" - and that he almost drove off the road in shock when he first heard of it on his phone while he was behind the wheel.
An ugly transfer saga followed and finally on 31st August 2006, Arsenal agreed to a player plus cash swap deal (5 million and William Gallas) and let the English star go.
Arsenal fans made their anger known dubbing the player 'Cashley' and waving fake 20-pound currency notes with a picture of Ashley Cole on it when the two clubs met in December on the pitch.
Cole, however, had the last laugh as he went on to win four more FA Cups, another Premier League title, the Europa League, the League Cup and most importantly the UEFA Champions League - all while during the same duration of time the gunners went season after season unable to win silverware.
#2 Robert Lewandowski-
Lewandowski went on to score 103 goals in 187 games for Dortmund and was an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's young team of underdogs- helping them to win the Bundesliga twice.
At the time, the success of Dortmund was celebrated by neutrals all over the world as a story of David vs Goliath because they had bested German giants Bayern Munich, who had far more financial power and footballing clout.
However, Bayern, being Bayern did what they do best when it comes to dealing with rival Bundesliga clubs- picking off their best players.
Lewandowski ran down his contract to join Bayern Munich for free and his 166 goals in 211 appearances thus far - have ensured that the Bundesliga is a "one horse league" again as Bayern romped home to 4 consecutive Bundesliga titles since.
When it had become clear that the Polish striker was not going to sign an extension, Dortmund was even open to the idea of selling him to any club outside of Germany. However, Lewandowski turned down interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea to move to Bayern Munich as a free agent.
That has got to hurt!
#3- Emmanuel Adebayor-
Emmanuel Adebayor was signed by Arsene Wenger from Monaco for 3 million pounds in January 2006.
His time at Arsenal, may not have won him any silverware but it was a success for him individually as he racked up goals and won the prestigious 'African player of the year' award in 2008.
On 18th July 2009 - he was signed by Manchester City on a 5-year contract from the Arsenal for 25 million pounds.
Over the years - former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Adebayor have differing accounts of what really happened that summer. Wenger, for his part, implied that it was the player who wanted to move.
In January this year, Adebayor once again spoke about this issue and insisted that it was Wenger who saw him as surplus to requirements at the club and asked him to leave.
Arsenal fans, however, can be forgiven for being upset with his celebration against them while playing for Manchester City. The Togolese hitman ran across the entire length of the pitch to rub it in.
Since then Adebayor also played for London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace as well as Real Madrid. He currently plies his trade in Istanbul, Turkey adding only a single Spanish FA cup winners medal in his trophy cabinet since.
#4- Sol Campbell
Tottenham Captain Sol Campbell, was well on his way to become a club legend. In the 9 years that Campbell played for Tottenham, he made a total of 315 appearances and is widely considered one of the best defenders ever of the Premier League era.
He was also the first Black Captain to lift a trophy at the Wembley Stadium when he led Tottenham to their victory over Leicester City in the League Cup final in the 1998-99 season.
In the summer of 2001, his contract with Spurs expired as they offered to make Campbell the club's highest-ever paid footballer in order to keep him.
However, Campbell shocked the world when he announced that he would be joining London rivals Arsenal. The statement caught the footballing world by surprise as there were no rumours in the media regarding such a move nor were there any leaks regarding negotiations between the gunners and the player.
Furthermore, Campbell had once told the Spurs monthly magazine that he would never play for the Arsenal.
Campbell has been labelled 'Judas' by some Spurs supporters with placards greeting him that way when he played against his former team.
On January 2009, four Tottenham fans were banned from every football ground in England and Wales for homophobic and possibly racist chants directed at Sol Campbell.
He went on to have the last laugh as he won two Premier League titles and three FA cups and was a part of the famous "invincible team".
#5- Fernando Torres
Liverpool acquired the services of 23-year-old Spanish sensation Fernando Torres in the year 2007.
Torres scored 81 goals in just 142 games for Liverpool in the three and a half years he spent with them and was on his well on his way to becoming a club legend.
However, on 27th January 2011, Chelsea Football Club offered 40 million pounds to the Merseyside club to acquire the services of the Spaniard. While the club rejected this unwelcome advance for its talismanic striker, Torres handed in a transfer request and pushed for the move.
Eventually on 31st January amidst the ugly spectacle of fans burning his number 9 Liverpool shirt, Fernando Torres moved to Chelsea for a then British transfer record fee of 50 million pounds.
While at Chelsea, Fernando failed to justify his price tag and was a shadow of his former self, scoring only 45 goals in 172 appearances and was eventually moved on to Atletico Madrid.
However, Torres managed to add an impressive collection of trophies while at Chelsea - two European titles and an FA Cup. Meanwhile, Liverpool could only win a single League Cup.
#6 - Luis Figo
It seemed as if the whole universe had conspired to ensure Luis Figo would join F.C Barcelona.
In 1995, Figo, a top prospect from Portugal was rumoured to be on his way to Italy, but a dispute between Juventus and Parma, with Figo having signed contracts with both clubs, resulted in a two-year transfer ban on him from playing in the Serie A.
Italy's loss, however, was Barcelona's gain with the Catalan club taking advantage of the situation and signing Figo from Sporting Lisbon for 2.25 million pounds.
Manchester City too had previously tried and failed to sign Figo in the past due to technical reasons regarding the age at which a Portuguese player could move out of the country at the time.
Figo's time at Barcelona saw him score 45 goals in 249 appearances and in the process entertained fans worldwide with his mesmerising skills.
Playing with the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Patrick Kluivert - he went on to help Barcelona win two League Titles, the Copa Del Rey twice, a Spanish and European Super Cup and a UEFA Cup-Winners Cup.
However, things changed at the turn of the new millennium that would take the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid to a whole new level.
In July 2000, Real Madrid activated a 62 million Euros clause in Luis Figo's and signed him from Barcelona.
A world record fee at the time - it signalled the beginning of Madrid President Florentino Perez's 'Galactico project'.
Whenever Figo returned to Barcelona - the crowd made their displeasure known with loud jeers, offensive banners and objects hurled on to the pitch. Famously, Figo, once had a pig's head thrown at his direction when he approached the corner flag on set-piece duty.
Figo playing alongside the likes of Beckham, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos went on to win two more League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, a Spanish and UEFA Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup.
He later went on to play for Italian giants Inter Milan, where he added 4 League titles and 3 domestic Cups to his already impressive collection of titles.
#7 - Robin van Persie
On 17 May 2004, Arsenal signed Robin van Persie on a four-year deal for £2.75 million from Feyenoord. The low transfer fees were in part due to 'behavioural issues' at his former club where he did not get along well with manager Bert van Marwijk.
Arsenal represented a new start for the young player. However, injuries and spells of poor form affected him in the early years of his time at the club. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, however, continued to have faith van Persie.
RVP rewarded the faith shown in him when he entered his prime scoring 22 and 37 goals in the 10/11 and 11/12 seasons going on to be Arsenal's 8th highest goalscorer of all time.
It seemed at the time with the form he was on he would finally break Arsenal's long trophy drought - but that was not meant to be.
On 4 July 2012, Van Persie announced that he would not be signing a new contract with Arsenal.
He turned down moves to clubs outside of England such as Juventus preferring to join rivals Manchester United for 22.5 million pounds plus bonuses.
In an interview, van Persie revealed that Manchester United assistant coach Rene Muelensteen convinced him to take the 'number 20' shirt - convincing him that he would help secure Manchester United's 20th League title.
Robin van Persie delivered in style helping United win the League title as he scored 30 goals that season in all competitions.
The Gunners meanwhile are yet to win the League since the 2003/04 season.
#8 - Carlos Tevez
On 10th August 2007, Carlos Tevez was signed by Manchester United on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy the player for 25.5 million pounds after a protracted saga regarding the ownership rights of the player between Westham United and third-party owners.
In the following two years, Tevez scored 33 goals for Manchester United helping them win two League titles, an FA Cup and most importantly the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United chief executive David Gill announced that Manchester United would make a move to sign Tevez on a permanent deal. The club then offered the player a 5-year deal offering to make him one of the highest earners at the club.
Tevez, however, rejected this offer preferring to sign permanently for cross-town rivals on 14th July 2009 for a lucrative 5-year deal.
His new club welcomed him with a 'Welcome to Manchester' sign - a dig at his former club.
The ugliest part of this saga was when Tevez held up an 'R.I.P Fergie' sign handed to him by a fan after Manchester City's 2011 FA cup win - a shot against the Manchester United manager.
He went on to score 73 goals in 148 appearances for Manchester City winning the Premier League in 2012 (in addition to the FA Cup he won the previous season) before he left the club joining Juventus after falling out with City manager Roberto Mancini.
He currently plays for Boca Juniors - his boyhood club.
#9 - Mario Gotze
A product of Dortmund's academy system - German wonder-kid Mario Gotze was promoted to the first team by Jurgen Klopp in the 2009-10 season.
In the following years, the precocious talent formed a wonderful understanding with fellow team-mates such as Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski and helped Dortmund win back-to-back Bundesliga titles.
And then Bayern struck!
On April 23rd 2013, barely 36 hours before a crucial Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid - it was announced that Bayern had activated a 37 million Euros release clause and that the player would be joining them the following season. Bayern Munich would go on to beat Dortmund in the final with an 'injured' Mario Gotze looking on.
Gotze scored 36 goals in 3 seasons under Pep Guardiola helping Bayern win 3 League titles, 2 FA Cups and a Super Cup. During this period he also scored the winning goal in the FIFA World Cup final in 2014 against Argentina.
However, this story has a happy ending for Dortmund fans. Gotze returned to the club in 2016 and claimed that 'he regretted his move away' from the club. Although it must be stated that he has never reached the same heights as a player since.
#10 - Gonzalo Higuain
On 27th July 2013, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis announced the signing of Gonzalo Higuain for 40 million Euros from Real Madrid.
What seemed to be a handsome amount in transfer fees turned out to be a bargain as the Argentine Hitman scored a massive 91 goals in 146 games. While he could not help his side to Serie A title, he did win the Coppa Italia and the Super Coppa Italiana in 2014.
In his final season with the club, he scored a whopping 36 goals in all competitions equalling Gino Rossetti's record in the 1928-29 season. This superb performance led to a massive 90 million Euros bid from rivals Juventus which Napoli accepted when the player indicated that he wanted out.
In his 2 years at Juventus, Higuain won the Serie A and Coppa Italia - twice each as he scored 55 goals in 105 games.
Fans at Napoli, especially the 'Ultras' never forgave the striker for this betrayal. In matches between the two clubs - the player was constantly jeered as fans threw toilet paper with his face printed onto it and put up banners calling him a traitor.
Higuain currently plays on loan at AC Milan from Juventus. He was pushed out of the club this summer to make way for Cristiano Ronaldo.
So what do you say - agree with our list? Let us know who you think should have made this list in the comments section. Your choice may make it in part 2 of the Judas series!
