Rating the performance of 10 club legends who switched teams
Attaining the status of a club legend is a daunting task. Any player who achieves this has to stay with a particular club for a significant period of time and also has to perform on a level that matches the expectations of fans. For this reason, it becomes even more difficult to be a club legend at some of the best clubs across Europe because of the immense pressure to perform at the very highest level.However despite this, many notable players have etched their names in the folklore of the European giants before moving on. Recently players like Steven Gerrard, Xavi and Bastian Schweinsteiger left their childhood clubs to move abroad to start a new chapter in their footballing careers. Like these players, many other players who were long-term servants of a club have left the club.How have they performed after their moves? Were they able to perform to the same level that made the club legends at their previous clubs?
#1 Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard was a player who joined Chelsea before the Abramovich era began and he is undoubtedly the best player from the pre-Abramovich era who succeeded after the Russian’s takeover. Lampard spent 13 years with Chelsea and won numerous honours with the club before being released at the end of the 2013/14 season.
Upon leaving Chelsea, Lampard joined new MLS outfit New York City FC and then spent the entire 2014/15 season on loan at their sister club Manchester City. This came as a shock to many as City was Chelsea’s biggest threat in the race for the league title. It won’t be wrong to say that Lampard’s move to City was due to City’s necessity to fill the home grown quota as a majority of his appearances were off the bench.
During his one-year stay with City, Lampard played 38 games overall of which 25 were as a substitute. He featured in 32 league games for City but managed just 1000 minutes on the pitch. Despite this, he scored 6 league goals and provided one assist. Lampard’s other direct contribution to City’s scoreline came in a league cup match against Sheffield Wednesday when he scored two goals and provided an assist.
Although Lampard was not a crucial player for City, he proved to be a decent acquisition since he was only on loan. His best contribution to his side was when he came on as a sub for City against his former club and scored the equalising goal.
Rating: 5/10