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Football is full of a variety of characters, the journeyman’s one being one of the most intriguing. Not everybody can stomach the routine of waking up from the same bed,taking the same mode of transport and reaching the same training ground every week for 20 years like the recently retired Ryan Giggs, or the AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini. On the opposite side of the spectrum from them, there are these footballing nomads, for whom staying at one club is simply not enough. Changing clubs more often than their socks, some players have travelled continents in search of a newer place to practise their profession.Honourable mentions in this section must include travelling English strikers of the 1990s – Les Ferdinand and Teddy Sheringham; and of course the widely and wisely travelled Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has played for seven clubs – six of them major European clubs.There is no arguing with numbers though – following are the high-profile journeymen in world football who have played for the most number of clubs.
#10 Craig Bellamy (9)
This energetic Welshman, who announced his retirement at the end of the 2013-14 season, is the first player in Premier League history to score for seven different clubs.
He had many successful years as a striker appearing for Norwich City and then Newcastle United, the two clubs where he spent four years each in the early stages of his career. He scored 32 goals for his first club, Norwich, and 28 for the Magpies.
Bellamy has dropped deeper and wider as his career has progressed, and has also seemed to developed itchier feet with every change of club. He has featured in Liverpool and Manchester City teams as a wide man, but has not lasted for more than two seasons at any club after his departure from Newcastle.
#9 Juninho Paulista (9)
The 5’5’’ Brazilian’s love for playing football in unique places is a known fact – he is remembered in Middlesbrough as ‘The Little Fella’ who played football with school children on the streets during his stay there.
Juninho has plied his trade in three continents. He started out in the domestic league of his own country, and frequently returned to Brazil for short spells at most of the major clubs. He has played in the Premier League as well as the La Liga with Atletico Madrid. He also went to Australian club Sydney FC for an year before calling time on his travelling lifestyle.
Juninho’s longest and most memorable stint was as an Atletico Madrid player, where he spent five years and returned a total of 14 goals.
#8 Peter Crouch (10)
The gangly English striker has never managed to settle at any club, having appeared for nine clubs in England and one Swedish fourth division club on a short loan spell. His best return was for Liverpool, scoring 22 goals in his three years there.
It would appear Crouch is looking to settle down at this late stage in his career – his current stay at Stoke City is already the longest time he has spent at a single club.
#7 Robbie Keane (10)
Keane has been the mainstay at the centre forward’s position for the Irish national team for almost a decade and a half, but he has spent his club career flitting through ten clubs over the same period.
He is best known as a Tottenham Hotspur player, for whom he has scored 93 goals. He has also had impressive spells at Leeds United, Celtic, and a later surge in his career at Los Angeles Galaxy.
His longest stay was also at the London club, where he played for a total of seven years: over three spells spread between 2002 to 2011.
#6 Nicolas Anelka (11)
This talented Frenchman has played for some of the most prestigous clubs in Europe, but his failure to consolidate his place in any of those clubs has harmed the player’s international chances.
Anelka spent his most prolific years scoring goals for Manchester City (37 goals), Fenerbahce (14 goals) and Bolton Wanderers (21 goals). His longest stay was at Chelsea, and it was at this London club that he played out the end of his best years. He played between 2008 and 2012 for them and returned 38 goals in the four years. Anelka then spent an year appearing for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese football league before returning to Europe.
Anelka is currently a free agent and is on the lookout for a twelfth club to allow him to prolong his career.
#5 Andy Cole (13)
The second-highest goalscorer in the Premier League era won numerous trophies as a Manchester United player, but played for a variety of clubs before and after his Old Trafford days. The England international has won all possible footballing honours in England, but could never succeed in setting his heart on a club.
His competitive debut was in Arsenal colours, and he also lent his goal-poaching services to Manchester City and Newcastle United. It was at Newcastle that Cole burst into the limelight between 1993 and 1995, scoring 55 goals in 70 appearances. As a result, he was swooped up by Manchester United, for whom he scored 93 goals in the vastly successful following six years.
#4 Christian Vieri (13)
This Italian striker was famed for his physical presence in the box and aerial abilities, being the highest ever scorer of headed goals in the Serie A. He is one of the few players to have played for all three major Italian clubs – Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
The last mentioned club bought Vieri from Lazio in 1999 for a €43 million fee, making him the most expensive player in the world back then. It was at Inter Milan that Vieri left most of his legacy. He played for six years with them and scored a total of 103 goals. He also had an incredible year in Spain prior to his Lazio days, scoring 24 goals in as many matches for Atletico Madrid.
Vieri was very vocal about his opinions at all times, it was a controversy about comments made on the club’s transfer policy that forced him out of Inter Milan; it is possibly for the same reason this Italian hitman could never carve out a stable place for himself at any other club either.
#3 Marcus Bent (14)
This man was a regular feature in the Premier League for the whole of the last decade, but confusingly enough, he never seemed to appear for the same club twice.
His longest stay for three years was at the club he started out his career, Brentford, before he set upon a truly nomadic career. He played for thirteen clubs in England, his most successful spell being for Ipswich Town, where he scored 21 goals in two years.
Bent’s last appearance was in the Indonesian league for Mitra Kukar two years ago, but it will not be a surprise to see him resurface in the colours of yet another bottom table team in some league.
#2 Rivaldo (15)
This Brazilian legend with a wide variety of skills and special moves only announced his retirement from professional football earlier this year. In an incredible club career spanning over 24 years, Rivaldo played in Brazil, Spain, Italy, Greece, Uzbekistan, Angola and finally went back to his native country to end the amazing run in the same country where it had been initiated.
Rivaldo is best remembered in club football for being a Barcelona player, a club where he spent five years, scoring 86 goals and winning the 1999 Ballon d’Or award.
Rivaldo remains the most widely travelled high-profile footballer in the history of the game.
#1 John Burridge (29)
Finally, we have this former English goalkeeper whose transfer-happy ways make his list of clubs appear like a statistical freak. Burridge, whose career lasted from 1969 to 1997, played for 29 different clubs, mostly not completing even one single season at a club before moving on.
The ultimate example of the mercenary footballer taken on hire, played in 771 domestic matches, and his 15 Football League clubs appeared in is still a record. His longest stay was for four years at Blackpool, but he had some slightly more famous stints for Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
He was shipped about from one club to another countless times towards the fag end of his career. After 1992, he made 29 appearances in total but was involved in transfer deals for a total of 21 times.
