Derbies are an important part of football culture, and some players move from one club to another for a variety of reasons. Although, often these players change the door of the club, such behavior will undoubtedly be seen as a betrayal, and they will be stigmatized for a long time.
Below, let's take a look at some of the famous betrayals in world football.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Leeds United: 1998-2004
Manchester United: 2004-2007
Alan Smith left Leeds United in the summer of 2004 after six years of play for Manchester United, a controversial move that caused him to be called a traitor by White Army fans.
The departure of Alan Smith has left Leeds even more powerless to compete with United in the Rose Derby, and he has also won the only Premier League title of his career.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Real Madrid: 1991-1996
Barcelona: 1996-2004
Enrique made his debut at Sporting Gijón, where he stepped into the club at the age of 20. Enrique spent five years at Real Madrid and then eight years at Barcelona.
However, although Enrique has spent a total of 13 years in Real Madrid and Barcelona, he has only won three La Liga titles in total.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Leeds United: 1992
Manchester United: 1992-1997
Leeds United was Cantona's first stop in England after leaving France, but he only spent just over half a year with the White Army before switching to Manchester United, much to the annoyance of Leeds United fans.
While Cantona is often used to posting a goal in a celebratory gesture, he was ashamed to do so at Elland Road. Every time Cantona visited Elland Road with Manchester United, the Leeds United fans greeted him with a tsunami of "traitor" shouts.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Arsenal: 2004-2012
Manchester United: 2012-2015
Van Persie left the Netherlands in 2004 to cross the English Channel, and his first stop was at Arsenal, where he stayed for eight years.
Van Persie won just one FA Cup in his eight-year Gunners career, and his switch to Manchester United in 2012 sparked outrage among Gunners fans. Robin van Persie only spent three years at Old Trafford, where he made his Premier League title dream come true and helped Sir Alex Ferguson to a successful conclusion in his final season in charge of the Red Devils.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Inter Milan: 1999-2005
AC Milan: 2005-2006
Vieri is a legendary striker for Inter Milan, having only spent six years with the Nerazzurri to become eighth on the club's all-time goalscorer list with 123 goals.
After leaving Inter Milan, Vieri unexpectedly opted to join AC Milan, and by then, he was about to turn 32 years old, and his competitive form inevitably went downhill. Vieri signed a two-year contract with AC Milan as a free agent, but his short spell with the Rossoneri came to an end after six months due to poor performances.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Arsenal: 1999-2006
Chelsea: 2006-2014
Ashley Cole's move to Chelsea was full of twists and turns, and he was fined for non-compliance, which was delayed until the following year. The move from Arsenal to Chelsea was already intolerable to Gunners fans, and leaving in such an impatient manner made Gunners fans even more angry.
Later, whenever Ashley Cole visited the Emirates Stadium with the Blues, it was only natural that Arsenal fans would enthusiastically welcome the rebel in a variety of ways.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Boca Juniors: 1980-1985
River Plate: 1985-1988
Ruggieri is a player who has been developed by Boca Juniors' own academy. Later, due to the heavy debt of Boca Juniors and long-term salary arrears, many players went on strike to show **. Boca Juniors sold Ruggieri to sworn rivals River Plate in exchange for a life-saving $150,000.
But the angry Boca Juniors fans didn't care, pointing the finger at Ruggieri and setting fire to his parents' house by several extremists.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Panathinaikos: 1989-2004
Olympiacos: 2004-2011
Nikopolidis was the Greek myth hero who won Euro 2004, but he was nailed to the pillar of shame by Panathinaikos fans for his transfer scandal that year.
Nicopolidis spent 15 years at Panathinaikos before he decided to leave the club because of the low salaries offered by the club and opted to join his arch-rival Olympiacos.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Everton: 1996-2000
Liverpool: 2000-2002
Nick Bambi's impressive performances in the 1999 2000 season earned him another call-up to the Three Lions, but his move from Everton to Liverpool that summer left him with notoriety.
This is the second time since 1959 that a player has moved from Everton to Liverpool. You can imagine how Barmsby will be treated when he returns to Anfield in the future.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Chelsea: 2001-2006
Arsenal: 2006-2010
Tottenham: 2010-2013
French defender Galla embarked on a 12-year Premier League career after leaving Ligue 1 in 2001 and landing in England. Galla set a record by becoming the only player to have made appearances in all three competitive matches for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Galla's 12-year Premier League career has only played for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, which naturally makes him unpopular with fans of these three clubs.
Playing for the Rival Club -
Borussia Dortmund: 2009-2013, 2016-2020
Bayern Munich: 2013-2016
Götze's seven-year experience at Dortmund was split into two parts, with three years at Bayern Munich in between, much to the annoyance of Hornets fans.
The boos and invective were just pediatrics, some fans burned his jersey on the spot, and even Gotze's younger brother, who was still in school, was implicated and had to change schools to escape harassment.
To be continued