A top five of the biggest betrayals in recent football history
Luis Figo joins Real Madrid from Barcelona
It is a moment fans from all over the world remember very well. Figo was a star at Barcelona and was their most talented and important player and loved by the fans. The negotiations between the two clubs were very difficult and it was like a soap opera.
When this transfer happened, the fans of Barcelona reacted very badly against Figo, and a lot of threats occurred against him. A difficult moment was the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou where Figo played for the first time against his former team.
A scene that everybody remembers is that of the pig head thrown towards Figo. Though that incident occurred two years after his first game back at the Camp Nou as a Real Madrid player.
Gonzalo Higuain joins Juventus from Napoli
This was a transfer every Napoli fans remembers well.
Gonzalo Higuain was considered a king at the club and in that 2015-16 season, he broke a record with Napoli as the striker with the most goals in a Serie A season.
In that summer, Juventus paid his release clause which was around €94 million and the Argentinian striker became a Juventus player. It is worth mentioning that the relationship between the fans of Napoli and Juventus is bad and that Napoli fans can forgive a lot of things but never that you play for Juventus.
Roberto Baggio joins Juventus from Fiorentina
Another important betrayal we could consider is that of Roberto Baggio, who went from Fiorentina to Juventus.
At that time, the fans of Fiorentina made different protests regarding this transfer and a lot of threats were directed at Baggio. It is important to mention that the most hated club by Fiorentina fans is, and always will be, Juventus.
Ronaldo joins Real Madrid and Milan despite playing for Barcelona and Inter
A player who is used to making important transfers and to leave fans angry was the Brazilian striker Ronaldo.
He made two transfers that not everybody would make and faced those without great pressure from Barcelona to Real Madrid and from Inter to Milan. He played for teams that were the biggest opponents of one another despite the protests of the fans and the pressure of the media.
It is important to mention Ronaldo didn’t go straight to Real Madrid from Barcelona which certainly helped ease, for lack of a better word, any sense of “betrayal” felt from the Catalan supporters.
Ashley Cole joins Chelsea from Arsenal
Ashley Cole was one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history. Cole started playing for Arsenal and after some time, Chelsea was interested in singning him. A lot of confusion and discussion was made in that period regarding the transfer of Cole to Chelsea and how the Blues approached him. Still, for Arsenal fans, this topic is a difficult one to absorb and forget.
Last but not least it is important to say that this so-called betrayal has happened before, will happen now and will continue to happen more in the future. This is a result of the continuing transformation of the football world and how football players are looking more and more towards their interest rather than the love for the club or fans.