Judas! The 10 biggest traitors in football

As Fernando Torres awaits his first game for Chelsea against his 'beloved' Liverpool, Dan Fitch looks at the biggest traitors in football.

Fernando Torres is guaranteed to receive a hostile reception from the travelling Liverpool supporters on Sunday, when he makes his Chelsea debut against his former club.

Having spent most of his time at Anfield stating how much he loved the club and the city, Torres this week said 'adios' before signing for Chelsea. The Liverpool fans feel betrayed, but Torres still has some way to go in the Judas stakes. Here are the 10 biggest traitors in football.

10. Alan Smith

In an interview with Soccer AM, the then Leeds United striker Alan Smith declared that the one team that he'd never play for was Manchester United. Understandably, the Leeds fans were then quite annoyed when Smith crossed the Pennines to sign at Old Trafford.

To be fair to Smith, he didn't have too much choice in the matter. With Leeds facing administration, Manchester United were the only club to offer a transfer fee up front, rather than in instalments and theirs was the only offer accepted.

Despite waiving the personal fees due to him to help the debt-ridden club, Smith was still hated by the Leeds fans, who just couldn't stomach a player who spent most of his time at Elland Road kissing the badge, joining the enemy.

9. Ronaldo

Full props go out to 'Fat' Ronaldo, for somehow managing to become a double-Judas, in two different countires.

After a season at Barcelona, he signed for Inter Milan, only to eventually return to Spain, when he signed for Barca's bitter rivals Real Madrid. The legendary goalscorer then made himself even more unpopular when he left Madrid to join Inter's nemesis AC Milan. All that's really left for Ronaldo to do now is to win a cap for Argentina.

8. Steve Bruce

When the Sunderland manager Steve Bruce recently claimed that Darren Bent had betrayed the players and the fans of the club by joining Aston Villa, those with long memories couldn't help but laugh at the irony of his comments.

For early on in his managerial career, Bruce moved between clubs with little regard for players or fans, as he sought to improve his own situation. After taking over at Wigan in 2001, he stayed at the club for less than two months before walking out on them to join Crystal Palace. He then managed to stay at Selhurst Park for three months, before ditching them to take over at Birmingham.

7. Jermain Defoe

How your actions are judged can have a lot to do with your timing. If you're thinking of dumping your girlfriend for instance, you might want to check your calendar to make sure that it's not December 25th, February 14th, or her birthday.

I'm sure in retrospect Jermain Defoe regrets deciding to hand in a transfer request when playing for West Ham, within 24 hours of their relegation. Defoe had to wait until the following January transfer window before getting his move, when he upset the West Ham faithful further by joining Spurs - the team that the East Londoners hate more than any other.

6. Harry Redknapp

Now safely ensconced as the manager of Tottenham, it wasn't so long ago that Harry Redknapp was in the midst of the bitter South coast rivalry that exists between Portsmouth and Southampton.

When Portsmouth appointed a Director of Football in 2004, Redknapp walked out on the club, only to shortly afterwards take over at Southampton. The Pompey fans were seething and before long the Saints supporters were too, as Harry failed to save the club from relegation and then walked out on them halfway through the next season, to return to Portsmouth.

5. Bernd Schuster

The German playmaker is the arch Judas of Spanish football, having managed to play for both sides of two different rivalries. Schuster signed for Barcelona in 1980 and though he was a success on the pitch, he had a stormy relationship with many of Barca's coaches and the club's hierarchy.

When he finally left the club in 1988, Schuster sparked controversy by joining Real Madrid. After a couple of seasons the midfielder then ensured that even Real's fans wouldn't like him that much by signing for Atletico Madrid.

4. Paul Ince

If there's one certainty in football, it's that Paul Ince will never be asked to manage West Ham. Having came through the youth ranks of the club as a player, Ince angered the Hammers by posing in a Manchester United shirt, before a transfer had been officially agreed between the clubs. In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Ince explained the incident:

"I spoke to Alex Ferguson and the deal was close to being done. I then went on holiday, and my agent at the time, Ambrose Mendy, said it wasn't worth me coming back to do a picture in a United shirt when the deal was completed, so I should do one before I left, and it would be released when the deal was announced. Lawrence Luster of the Daily Star took the picture and put in the library. Soon after, their sister paper, the Daily Express, were looking for a picture of me playing for West Ham, and found the one of me in the United shirt in the pile. They published it and all hell broke loose."

We still don't expect West Ham's fans to forgive him any time soon.

3. Mo Johnstone

If you really want to know what it's like to be unpopular in a city, then why not play for Celtic and then Rangers (or vice versa). That's just what Mo Johnstone did, after leaving Celtic to join the French side Nantes.

After two years in France, Johnstone appeared at a press conference at Parkhead, with Celtic having reputedly agreed a £1.2m deal to bring the striker back to the club. At the time Johnstone was quoted as saying: "I didn't want to leave Celtic and I don't intend to now. There was some rubbish about me wanting to join Manchester United but it never entered my head to play for any other club. In fact, there is no other British club I could play for apart from Celtic."

Due to financial complexities the deal never went through and less than a month later Johnstone signed for Glasgow Rangers. He was only the second player to play for both Old Firm clubs since World War II and the Rangers fans seemed even more appalled at the deal than those of Celtic, with many burning scarves and handing in season tickets.

2. Luis Figo

During his spell with Barcelona between 1995 and 2000, the Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo was a fan's favourite UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 and two successive league titles.

Yet when Real Madrid came calling with a £38m transfer fee, Figo was off. As a consequence he was a marked man whenever it was time for El Clasico at the Camp Nou. In 2002, three seasons after making the switch, he was continually pelted with various objects as he took throw ins and corners, including a pig's head.

The feelings of the Barca faithful towards Figo were best summed up by a banner which read 'We hate you so much because we loved you so much'.

1. Sol Campbell

In 1999 Tottenham turned down a £15m bid from Manchester United for their home-grown defender Sol Campbell. They were desperate to keep him at the club and offered him a deal that would make him the club's highest paid player ever. After lengthy negotiations and assurances that he wanted to stay at Spurs, Campbell's contract nevertheless expired by the summer of 2001 and it was announced that he would leave on a Bosman free transfer.

As one of the world's top defenders and available on a free transfer, Campbell could have pretty much joined any side in the world. Had he moved to Real Madrid or even Manchester United, Tottenham fans would have probably understood, considering that they were just as frustrated as the player, by the club's lack of progress on the pitch.

What they could never forgive though was Campbell's shock decision to sign for Arsenal, despite having claimed in Spurs Monthly magazine that the Gunners were the one club he wouldn't play for. The Tottenham fans never forgave Campbell and even after he left to play for Portsmouth, a number of supporters were charged with singing an indecent song aimed at the player in 2009.

Published: 3 Feb 2011