Loyalty in football is something that, in most cases, is something that is seen as a custom by fans and players alike, however sometimes, players turn their back on their clubs and its fans in favour of a move to their rivals.
Players like Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo and Luis Figo are some of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch, however to some, they are viewed as nothing more than traitors.
We here at CaughtOffside have selected the 20 biggest traitors in football history for you. Have a read of it and let us know who you think should and should not have made the list.
20 – Andrea Pirlo
When Pirlo announced he would be moving from AC Milan to fierce Italian rivals Juventus in 2011, fans of the Rossoneri were in uproar at the midfielder’s decision. Despite winning two Champions Leagues and two Serie A titles with Milan, Pirlo was quickly shunned by their supporters and is often considered as a traitor by a fair few of their fans to this day.
19 – Robin van Persie
Van Persie was often regarded by many Arsenal fans as a somewhat legend for the amount of time he spent with the Gunners, however this quickly changed when he moved to rivals Man United in 2012. Despite showing a lack of loyalty to the Gunners, he did manage to win a Premier League title with the Red Devils, so we’ll let him off with this one!
18 – Carlos Tevez
Tevez proved a massive hit with United fans during the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons, as his goals helped United secure two Premier League titles and a Champions League title. However, once the Argentine announced he would be moving to rivals Man City, this legacy was forgotten immediately, with some United fans still regarding Tevez in a bad light to this day.
17 – Roberto Baggio
Despite being regarded as one of Fiorentina’s best ever players, Baggio is still seen as a huge traitor by some after he secured a move to Juventus in 1990. The move saw riots break out in the streets of Florence, with some even holding a huge grudge against the Italian to this very day.
16 – Filippo Inzaghi
One of the greatest goal scorers of all time Inzaghi made a few enemies at the Old Lady when he moved from Juve to Milan in 2001 in spite of him bagging loads of goals for Juve during his time there. Just one season after his move, the forward helped Milan beat Juventus in the final of the 2003 Champions League, how’s that for a sucker punch!
15 – Christian Vieri
Despite managing to score a mightily impressive 123 goals in just six years at Inter, Vieri soon turned from a hero to a villain after he joined fierce rivals AC Milan in 2005. Vieri didn’t quite manage to replicate his goal scoring record for the Rossoneri, which we’re sure is something that would’ve pleased a fair few Inter fans!
14 – Tiago Pinto
Despite being young at the time, defender Tiago Pinto didn’t make many new friends after swapping Benfica for Sporting Lisbon in 2000. Despite never making a league appearance for Sporting, Pinto still isn’t the most welcome player at the Estadio De Luz, even to this day.
13 – Michael Luadrup
Despite helping Barcelona secure a number of La Liga titles and a European cup between the years of 1989 and 1994, Danish star Laudrup instantly became a villain at the Camp Nou after he moved to fierce rivals Real Madrid. Despite his heroics with the Blaugrana, some Barca fans still hold the Dane in a negative light despite the move happening more than 20 years ago.
12 – Ronaldo
Although he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo certainly didn’t help himself during his career with his moves to different clubs.
The Brazilian superstar managed to play for all of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan during his time as a player, something that would’ve earned him a few haters at every club despite his heroics.
11 – Felipe Santana
One of the more lesser known names on this list, but still a traitor all the same, Brazilian defender Felipe Santana angered a fair few Dortmund fans when he signed for rivals Schalke from the German giants in 2013. Although he helped the club reach the Champions League final in 2013, Sanatan is still seen negatively by Dortmund fans for his actions all those years ago.
10 – Luis Enrique
With stars such as Michael Laudrup and Luis Figo swapping Barcelona for Real during their careers, it was time for the Blaugrana to get their own back in 1996, after the Catalan giants signed Luis Enrique from Real.
Enrique then became manager of the club back in 2014, something that would’ve surely seen Real fans hate the Spaniard even more!
9 – Luis Figo
Onto one of the more famous names on this list, Figo sparked huge outrage in 200 when he swapped the Camp Nou for the Santiago Bernabeu. The player was absolutely hammered by Barca fans on his first game back at the Camp Nou, with one supporter even famously throwing a pig’s head at the Portuguese winger. How’s that for hatred!
8 – Sol Campbell
When Sol Campbell moved to Arsenal from fierce north London rivals Spurs in 2001, the England international instantly became a hated figure at White Hart Lane, and still largely is until this day. With his success with the Gunners not helping Spurs fans get over the move, we can’t think of many players that are hated more by Lilywhites fans than the Arsenal legend.
7 – Bernd Schuster
After moving from Barcelona to Real Madrid 1988, the Camp Nou faithful certainly didn’t take kindly to the move, however when the German move from Los Blancos to Atletico Madrid in 1993, he made even more enemies amongst Spain’s biggest sides, and may just be one of the only players to be hated by both Real and Barca fans. At least they can finally agree on something!
6 – Ashley Cole
Despite being a part of their ‘Invincibles’ in the 2003/04 season, Cole decided to pack up his bags and swap life with the Gunners in favour of a move to west London with rivals Chelsea, a move that surely still has a fair few Gunners fans angry today.
5 – Cesc Fabregas
When Chelsea announced the signing of Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona in the summer of 2014, Arsenal fans were sent into a frenzy, with a lot taking to social media to berate the former Gunners star for turning his back on the north London side, and moving to fierce rivals Chelsea.
He’s still booed by the Emirates faithful today despite him moving to Stamford Bridge in 2014. Let it go lads!
4 – Mario Gotze
Despite securing a move back to Dortmund in 2016 after a struggling time in Bavaria, Gotze was absolutely hated by the Dortmund faithful for his move to Bayern in 2013, with the player joining the club just weeks after they beat Dortmund in the Champions League final. How’s that for killing two birds with one stone!
3 – Robert Lewandowski
As if signing Gotze wasn’t already enough, Bayern dealt a double whammy to Dortmund when they signing star striker Robert Lewandowski from them as well in 2014, a signing that completed crushed Dortmund and helped Bayern become a dominant force in Germany once again. We can’t even begin to imagine the hate Dortmund have for Bayern at this point!
2 – Emre Belozoglu
Emre played for a whole host of clubs during his career, including the likes of Inter Milan and Newcastle, however he’s made his way onto this list for the time he spent at both Fenerbahce and Galatasary.
Emre sparked fury when he signed for Fenerbahce from Newcastle in 2008, with Galatasaray fans absolutely seething at the bit seeing him playing in the club’s yellow and black kit after having previously represented Galatasaray for a number of years.
1 – Wayne Rooney
When Rooney signed for Man United from Everton in 2004, the transfer sent Toffees fans into outrage. Everton supporters were then made to fume even more later in Rooney’s career when he scored against the Toffees, kissing the United badge in the process in front of the Goodison Park faithful. Keep it classy, Wayne.
