The five most ungrateful players of the Premier League era

The season of transfers is never a good one for clubs across the world of football. For every side that gains a new world-class act, another side loses one. Money is all that seems to speak now, with loyalty a distant destination few care to embark on the journey towards.

Barely a week into the official summer transfer window, Manchester’s adopted son, Wayne Rooney seems quite open to a switch to Arsenal, who themselves saw their protege, Robin van Persie, go the other way last summer. Even more shockingly, Liverpool‘s marauder-in-chief this past season, Luis Suarez, is flirting with Real Madrid, in spite of the Reds having stuck by him throughout his racism incident, and toothy antics.

Here are five players who went out of their way to become the target of ire for the fans of their former clubs.

Samir Nasri

In spite of multiple players ‘moving on’ from Arsenal for greener pastures, few have been hated as much as this unapologetic Frenchman. After having really come into form in the ’10 – ’11 season after a couple of average seasons at the club, Samir Nasri immediately chose to ditch the Emirates for the unbelievable amounts of greens being handed out at the blue club in Manchester. Needless to say, fans went into a frenzy over his departure, waving notes at him upon his return to the Emirates, and in general, singing songs about him which are unmentionable on print. His recent comments about how he left Arsenal to join a “better club”, will do little to improve his standing with the Gunners.

Joey Barton

One of only two players not to have been involved with Arsenal on this list, Joey Barton has been ungrateful to nearly every club he’s played at. Take Manchester City for instance, as if getting involved in a fight with an under-age Everton fan was insufficient, Barton went on to display his backside to the Toffees at Goodison Park on a later date. City’s patience with him was rewarded with a cigarette being stubbed out in the eye of a university player, and later, an assault on team-mate Dabo. Barton then went on to Newcastle where he continued his brawling, but this time on the pitch.

Punching Pedersen, getting involved in a muddle with Gervinho and nearly half the Arsenal side apart, Barton flat out refused to sign a contract extension with the struggling Magpies. Later, when he was transfer-listed by the club, he tried to play victim by criticising the board’s decision to let him go before eventually moving on to QPR. By then everyone knew what to expect of Barton, and it was no surprise that the season ended with him involved in an ugly spat with Man City players, before ending up being left out of QPR’s first team training sessions, and without a squad number. Twitter has been the weapon of choice for this erratic footballer, and it seems there’s no end in sight.

Sol Campbell

The original ‘Judas’ of the Premier League, Tottenham’s Sol Campbell flat out lied his way out of the side and into arch-rivals Arsenal’s line-up on a Bosman transfer. Stating his need for Champions League football, Campbell left the Spurs in 2001, and ignoring many other European clubs fighting over his signature, he chose north London rivals Arsenal to ply his trade and fulfill his dreams of playing the Champions League. This was so infuriating for the Tottenham fans that when he returned to Arsenal many years later for a lone season in 2009, they were found guilty of such abusive chants that they were banned from all football stadiums in England for three years. What hurt most, the Spurs’ fans will say, was the fact that Campbell spent the last year of his contract assuring them he wouldn’t leave, and telling the Spurs monthly magazine that he would never play for Arsenal. Flat out lies from this seemingly honest man, as it turned out.

Carlos Tevez

Standing out for his sheer desperation to get back at his former club, Manchester United, and more so his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlos Tevez was one of many players lured away from their clubs by the moneybags at Man City. He wasted no time getting under the skins of local rivals and former fans, by appearing spread-armed in a sky blue poster welcoming people to Manchester. Of course, City themselves would bear the brunt of this ungrateful wretch’s antics when he refused to come on a substitute in a losing Champions League game. But the Argentine’s most infamous act has to be when he held aloft a sign-board with the words “R.I.P. Fergie” on it, mocking Ferguson’s comments about City not winning a title in his lifetime.

Emmanuel Adebayor

A mercenary in the true sense, Emmanuel Adebayor seems to have never had a fond feeling in his heart for anything but money. Often on the brink of nowhere to play because of staunch refusal to cut down on his wage demands, Adebayor seems to enjoy mocking his former clubs when he scores against them. After all, who can forget that time he ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans, having just scored against them? All claims of him being unloved at the Emirates aside, the sheer glee with which he pranced across the pitch to gloat in front of them was indicative of a man who held zero regard for his former club.

After all, not everyone is thankful for the club that made them into the player they are, are they?