5 modern day legends who rejected big money moves to stay at their beloved clubs
The effect of glamour and finances on the game of football cannot be underestimated. Very often, footballers are led to making decisions that are influenced by the glamour or the finances, rather than footballing rationale. While some do go on to justify their big money moves, a number of players have so far set examples on how a big money move can ruin one’s growth as a footballer.
At the other end of the spectrum, there exists a segment of players who are touted to be legends for their respective clubs and are expected to make a move every transfer window, only for them to shut down the speculation time and again and stay put with their beloved club.
In this segment, we take a look at 5 players, who rejected big money moves to stay at their respective clubs.
#5 Ledley King - Tottenham Hotspur
Ledley King, the former Tottenham defender and captain, has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs to have played in the Premier League era. While a chronic knee injury decided to play spoilsport in his long career at White Hart Lane, King was amongst the best in Europe when fit.
Such were his performances for his club during the period of 1999 and 2012, and was even voted as the 25th best player at the club ever by The Times.
While King spent his entire footballing career at White Hart Lane, there was a time when he was on the radar of cross-town rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, who were willing to improve on his wages and also provide him with an opportunity to play in the Champions League.
However, none of these proved to be tempting enough for the former English defender, as he refused the moves to the supposed greener pastures of London.
The reception received by Sol Campbell on making the move to arch rivals Arsenal from Tottenham, served King as a reminder of what was to come in case he made the move.
“There were rumours, yeah. It was just after Sol left so that, obviously, was never going to happen. I saw the response Sol got as well! No, I was never going to leave and especially not to join Arsenal,” said King in a recent interview to Joe’s Football Friday Live.