Everybody loves a good villain. In football, players like Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Joey Barton, and others are good examples of this; players that people hate but secretly respect for their unique ability to get under an opponent’s skin. However, for every villain there’s a Benedict Arnold. An Anakin Skywalker. A Saruman the White. Players who betrayed their teams, some of which thrust them into the limelight and to whom they can thank for their careers for their bitter rivals. These are the players we’ll take a look at today. Players who betrayed their teams for rivals and became hated by their previous fans as a result. Let’s begin.
Luis Figo
Arguably the most famous traitor in football history, Luis Figo moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2001 for 62 million euros, the world record fee, signaling the start of the Florentino era. At a time Barcelona’s most loved player, both in and out of the football sphere, the move sent shockwaves in the football community, as well as throughout the whole of Spain. On his return to the Camp Nou, Figo was booed and taunted without end every time he returned to the Camp Nou, the most famous incident being a pig’s head thrown at him when he was taking a corner kick.
Robin van Persie
Perhaps the biggest villain of Arsenal’s recent history, Robin van Persie spent over 5 years at Arsenal, with 132 goals, and announcing in 2012 he wouldn’t renew with Arsenal and joined Man Utd. While van Persie claimed no hard feelings and that nobody at Arsenal was unhappy with him, it was a different story when it came to the fans, who never forgave him, and when Arsenal had to give van Persie a guard of honor near the end of his first season when United won the 2013 Premier League title, the boos were louder than ever.
Eric Cantona
A fan favorite of a Leeds team which needed him, it all seemed to be going smoothly for Eric Cantona at Elland Road. However, when Sir Alex and Man Utd came calling, it proved to be too much for the French striker and he joined the Manchester outfit for just over 1 million pound in 1992. Leeds fans immediately made him an enemy of the club after that, and Cantona never had a warm welcome at Elland Road again.
William Gallas
One of the true examples of a mercenary in football, loyal only to the club willing to pay him the most, William Gallas broke the code of not 1 but 2 rivalries in London. Joining Chelsea in 2001 from Marseille, Gallas played over 150 matches for Chelsea before breaking the Chelsea-Arsenal rivalry by joining the Gunners in 2006, apparently claiming that he’d score own goals if the move didn’t happen. He played over 100 games for Arsenal in 4 years, and did well, but in 2010, Gallas broke another rivalry code, joining Tottenham for free, and while the move seemed promising, it was a disappointment, joining Perth for free in 2013, retiring in 2014. He ended up being hated by Chelsea fans for joining Arsenal, hated by Arsenal fans for joining Tottenham, and hated by Tottenham fans for just being bad.
Lazaros Christodoulopoulos
Perhaps this guy is the embodiment of having no true loyalty, having the most big transfers of them all, the only player to ever play for all of the Greek Big 4 sides. Christodoulopoulos started at PAOK as a youth player in 2000, and played 57 times as a senior player, but signed for rivals Panathinaikos in 2008. He had a better role there, playing 89 times and even being monitored by Liverpool. Lazaros left Panathinaikos in 2013 for Italy, and stayed there for 3 years before joining AEK Athens back in Greece in 2016, direct rivals of PAOK and Panathinaikos but there’s no real derby between AEK and the two. Lazaros played for AEK for two years before AEK saw Lazaros negotiatigng with rivals Olympiacos over a free move when AEK thought he still had a year left on his deal. They went to court, and Lazaros won, signing for Olympiacos as a result. He was good when he played, but injury issues limited his play time. Rivalries? Titles? This guy didn’t care.
Kenny Miller
The Rangers-Celtic rivalry is sacred, and Kenny Miller showed absolute disregard for it. The Holy War of football has only been broken a handful of times since WW2, and it was broken twice by Miller. First, MIller signed for Rangers in 2000, only playing half a season before joining Wolves on loan and joining them after the season. Then, in 2006, he joined Celtic, angering both sides of the rivalry. However, he only played 1 full season at Celtic, leaving for Derby in 2007. In 2014, he came back to Scotland to join Rangers, spending 4 years at the club. In the end, nobody liked Miller, and he retired in 2020 for Partick Thistle at the age of 40.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Another name that Arsenal fans spit at, Adebayor’s wild career started at Metz and then Monaco, from which he joined Arsenal in 2006 for 3 million euros. It was mostly a smooth experience, but left in 2009 for the new fortune of Man City, angering a section of Arsenal fans. Adebayor didn’t forget this, and in their game at the City of Manchester Stadium vs Arsenal, Adebayor scored and infamously knee-slid in front of the Arsenal supporters after scoring, running the length of the pitch to do so. Later on, after a loan at Real Madrid, he joined Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham, furthering his hatred of the gunners.
Carlos Tevez
Starting at Boca Juniors, Carlos Tevez’s career is another very odd one. Joining Corinthians after Boca, a weird deal, and then West Ham. He spent 3 years at the club, 2 of them being on loan at Manchester United, perhaps one of the best loans in history, being one of their main attacking options as they won the Premier League twice and the Champions League once in two years. However, he then joined Man City after the end of the loan, being one of City’s best attackers in the beginning of their takeover. There was no love lost between Tevez and United, with City fans also ridiculing United fans to no end about the deal. During City’s 2012 title parade, Tevez also showed a R.I.P. Fergie banner, unforgivable for United supporters.
Luis Enrique
A less-known betrayal, Current PSG manager Luis Enrique came through the Sporting Gijon ranks, before signing for Real Madrid in 1991. He spent half a decade at Los Blancos, but then moved to Barcelona on a free. While the Culers were hesitant about the deal at first, he won them over with good performance and his love for the club. Enrique became captain of the club, and scored multiple goals in El Clasico against Madrid, celebrating wildly each time. The reason he’s here though, is because after retirement, he became Barca B’s manager for 3 years, leaving in 2011 and returning to manage the senior side in 2014, winning a treble, and in total, 1 UCL, 2 La Ligas, and 3 Copas del Rey in 3 seasons for Barca.
Sol Campbell
We end the list with another famous move between rivals. We’ve given Arsenal fans some bad memories in this list, so let’s give them some good ones. Sol Campbell signed for Spurs at 15, and in 12 years with the club, played 255 times, becoming a fan favorite at the Lane. However, Campbell committed the ultimate sin, and left Spurs for Arsenal in 2001, even after assuring fans he’d stay. He became one of Arsenal’s best ever center backs, with an all-time season in Arsenal’s 2004 Unbeaten season.
That’s all for this list. These were some of the biggest traitors in football’s history, but I could have easily put in a lot more footballers, so you may see a part 2. I’m Jim James, until next time.