Just as there were players who remained at a club and became legends there, there were also players who made the headlines at multiple clubs. They wanted to see what playing at different places felt like and they adapted to the change in the climate. Because they were so good at football, the demand was high and clubs were willing to break the bank for them time and time again. Couple that with some smart decisions on behalf of the player and as a result you have a few players who played for multiple big and prestigious clubs. Here are 5 of them.
5. Luis Figo:
Luis Figo
He is one of the best midfielders of his generation. He had all the necessary skill: terrific passing and vision, fantastic dribbling and attacking prowess. All the clubs wanted him and as a result, he played for some of the best in the business. He started off at Barcelona where he won the La Liga twice. He went on to join rivals Real Madrid on a record transfer that broke the buyout clause where he won the La Liga twice and the UCL once. He also won the Ballon D’or in 2000 primarily for his Barcelona contributions but much the fans’ dismay, he lifted the award while clad in the Real Jersey. He went to Inter Milan in 2005 where he won the Serie A 4 times and even the Inter Milan Player of the Year in 2006. He won 7 trophies at all three clubs. That makes it three brilliant runs(four, if you count Sporting CP) in three of the biggest clubs in the world, all belonging to Europe’s top 5 leagues.
4. Ronaldo Lima:
Ronaldo Lima
One of the best players of all time, Ronaldo was probably the deadliest striker during his time. His dribbling was otherworldly and he popularized step-overs and trick-moves by integrating them seamlessly into his play style. His finishing and general attack-mindedness were second to none. He won the World Cup twice with Brazil. Ronaldo made the Brazilian squad into a fear-inducing team. He won the Ballon D’or twice and it’s no wonder he played in so many of the biggest clubs. He played at PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona bought him for the then-record of £13.2 million. After winning the Copa Del Rey in Barcelona colours, he broke the transfer record again when he was signed by Inter Milan, this time for £19.5 million. The Italian giants were interested in him even prior to this move but lost the bidding war to Barcelona. He shone under Inter Milan where he won the Euro Cup. He was then signed by Real Madrid for 46 Million EUR in 2002 and spent the most matches there (122). He was part of the Galacticos and he scored 84 goals for RMA, winning 2 La Liga’s. He went back to Italy again, this time playing for AC Milan for 8.5 million EUR. His time there was brief, scoring 9 goals in 20 matches. (All the above are league stats). After his time in Italy, he played for Corinthians in his home country of Brazil and retired in 2011 as a bonafide and beloved football legend.
3. Robbie Keane:
Robbie Keane
The former Ireland captain has played for a multitude of clubs. He was a fast player and could play all critical positions on the front line which helped him accrue a lot of goals. Across 737 performances across 3 continents( Europe, North America, Asia), he scored 325 goals. He played at Inter Milan for 14 games and scored 3 goals. His most definitive period of football was at Tottenham Hotspur where he played 6 seasons in a row. In his 2007-08 season, he won the League Cup with the North London club which was their first trophy after Sol Campbell left the club in an infamous transfer. Keane then went to Liverpool for a season where he played 19 league games. He again returned to Tottenham and eventually found his way in the US where he played with LA Galaxy. Most recently he played a season of football with Atletico De Kolkata (India) in the 2017-18 season.
2. Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri
Italian clubs back again. Cristian Vieri was a brilliant centre forward and quintessential goalscorer with incredible attacking instincts such as positioning, finishing and having a keen sense of when to strike the opposition. As a result, at one point clubs were willing to shell out a lot of money for the Italian CF. Cristian Vier had a decent stint at Juventus where he scored 8 goals in 23 matches. His move to Atletico Madrid after that really made people take notice. He scored 24 goals in 24 matches for Atletico Madrid(league). As a result, Italian club Lazio snagged him for a staggering €25 million (1998). Scoring 14 goals at Lazio across a season only increased the demand and finally, Inter Milan broke the transfer record and scooped him up for €49 million. He had his longest tenure at Inter Milan spanning six seasons and it was a very impressive one with 103 goals in 143 matches. Even after that, he had a very short 14 game stint at AC Milan where he only scored 2 goals. He spent a season abroad in France before returning to the Serie A and retiring at Atalanta.
1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
It’s safe to say that everyone knew this prolific goalscorer would take the top spot. He just simply fits all the criteria. He’s frequently regarded as one of the best forwards and players on the planet. The Swedish sensation is cited as one of the best older players to ever play the game and despite being 37 he shows no signs of stopping. His finishing, athleticism and attacking sensibilities are a notch above even the best footballers. He has highlight reel after highlight reel of some of the best goals in football. Even if the amount of clubs is shocking it really isn’t a surprise considering talent at the display. He played for Ajax in the Dutch League where he scored 48 goals in 110 matches over the course of 4 seasons. After that, Juventus bought him for €16 million and he played 2 seasons at Turing before he moved to Inter Milan for €25 million where he won the Serie A footballer of the year for scoring 17 goals in 26 games in a single season. He did a repeat of that in 2008-09 where he scored even more goals. He made his way to Spain and played alongside Messi in Barcelona for 2 seasons. He went back to Italy and joined AC Milan where he scored 50 plus goals across two seasons. The cogs in the machine were far from stopping as Ibrahimovic spent the most amount of seasons in PSG where he was the Ligue 1 Top Scorer and Best Player 3 times, scoring 156 goals in 180 matches. He then set out for England and played two seasons in Manchester United on a free transfer, where he spent most of the latter season off the field because of injury. Currently, the journey is progressing at LA Galaxy where he’s just as prolific with an almost 1:1 goals to matches ratio(44:38). It’s no wonder he made the top spot. He blasted through all the criteria and then some.
