Robert Lewandowski, Luis Figo and five stars who left their clubs on bad terms
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 10 Jun 2022 22:24 BST
- 5 min read
With the nature of football and the vast finances involved in the sport, it's perhaps unsurprising that players sometimes kick up a fuss when pursuing an exit from a club.
This often tarnishes their reputation at the team they're leaving and a sour taste lingers in the mouth of that club's fanbase.
Romelu Lukaku experienced that last summer when he left Inter, although he later tried to make up for it in an interview with Sky Italia, and Robert Lewandowski's expected departure from Bayern Munich to Barcelona is another such example. The Polish international has been a sensation in Bavaria since joining from rivals Borussia Dortmund, but has risked ruining that with his recent comments and actions.
The 33-year-old is seeking an exit from the Allianz Arena despite having one year left on his current contract. He doesn't plan on seeing that deal out and instead wishes to leave the club for Barcelona.
Related articles
What originally started as a fairly harmless request to be allowed to leave has quickly turned and Lewandowski has utilised the press to spread the message that he wishes to exit the club. It has now become an ugly war between the player and the club, and one that doesn't seem to have settled well within the Bayern camp, whether that be the supporters or the staff at the club.
Lewandowski is a legend at the cub, but he's risked that status by his recent actions. While on Poland duty he said: "My era at Bayern Munich is over. I don’t see any possibility to continue playing for this club anymore.”
“Bayern is a serious club and I hope they will not keep me only because they can do it. A transfer is the best solution. I hope they don’t stop me.”
Lewandowski will leave the club on bad terms, but what other example are there of players departing on bad terms?
Luis Figo
Luis Figo did the unthinkable and left Barcelona to join Real Madrid for a world record fee in 2000 and it unsurprisingly didn't go down well with the Blaugrana fans.
Once a hero at the club, after contributing over 100 goals and assists and winning eight trophies, Figo became the villain once he announced his move to their El Clasico rivals.
Upon revisiting Camp Nou as a Los Blancos player, Figo was subject to banners that read "Judas" and "traitor" before items such as bottles, coins and famously a pig's head were thrown at him during the game.
Cesc Febregas
Despite making his name at Arsenal, many Gunners supporters aren't the biggest fans of Cesc Fabregas.
The Spanish midfielder joined the club from Barcelona as a youngster and rose to prominence at Arsenal, even captaining the side in his teenage years. He was the club's best player, but soon forced a move back to his boyhood club.
Arsenal had rejected a bid from Barcelona in 2009, but one year later Fabregas was determined to make the transfer happen. He skipped training, exiled himself from the club and made himself unavailable for the first match of the season.
The Gunners were forced to reluctantly sell the midfielder, but his reputation at the club suffered. It also wasn't helped by joining London rivals Chelsea and helped them to Premier League glory.
Raheem Sterling
The Englishman came through the QPR academy, but joined Liverpool at a very young age before making his senior debut at the Anfield club.
The jewel in their young crown, Sterling burst onto the scene and soon formed an epic trio with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. But, when Manchester City came calling, he couldn't turn down a move.
Sterling told Liverpool he didn't want to be included in the squad for their pre-season tour of the United States of America and had previously told the BBC he'd turned down an extended deal at the club.
He is still booed whenever he returns to Anfield.
William Gallas
This pair are included together as they were both involved in the same deal, with Ashley Cole making the move from Arsenal to Chelsea in 2006 and William Gallas going the other way.
For Gallas, he reportedly refused to play in Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool as he pushed for a move away and is said to have threatened to score an own goal if selected for their fixture against Man City on the opening day of the 2006/07 campaign.
As for Cole, he was nicknamed 'Cashley' by angered Gunners fans who believed he was simply opting to leave the club in search of more money. He had also met with Jose Mourinho as early as January 2005 before Cole, his agent, Mourinho and Chelsea were all fined for not letting Arsenal know.
Cole did, however, go on to win eight trophies at Chelsea, while Gallas didn't win one after his move to Arsenal.
Sol Campbell - Tottenham to Arsenal
From Tottenham to Arsenal, Sol Campbell crossed the North London divide and is still hated by Spurs fans.
Captain at White Hart Lane, Campbell revealed he wouldn't be joining Arsenal in January 2001, but just six months later the move was confirmed.
The move was also a complete surprise, with nobody expecting a deal to be agreed. It left Tottenham fans fuming at the lack of communication from the player and vile chants and messages went directed at Campbell.
Read more about:
UEFA Champions League
La Liga
Bundesliga
Barcelona
Bayern
Real Madrid
Robert Lewandowski
