5 most famous football journeymen

Transfers are always a hard decision for players to ponder over. A change of surrrounding, as much as it is necessary, can sometimes be difficult to deal with as well. When a player moves, he takes his entire family with him. The entire shifting process of shifting from countries to countries is a tedious process.

And yet, some footballers manage to play for about 10 clubs in their careers. Some of them even manage to keep up the level of performance no matter how many clubs they play for. Let’s have a look at five of the biggest journeymen the beautiful game has ever witnessed.5. Andy Cole (13 clubs)

Andy Cole’s name was etched in Premier League folklore when he became the second highest goalscorer in the history of English top-tier. However, the Englishman was also equally good at switching clubs as he was in front of the goal.

Throughout his entire career, Cole played for 13 clubs, starting with Arsenal. From 1993 to 1995. 53 goals in 70 games for Newcastle got him the limelight that eventually saw him join Manchester United in 1996, where he enjoyed the most successful time in his career.

Cole notched 93 goals, while forming a deadly and famous partnership with Dwight York at Old Trafford.4. Christian Vieri (14 clubs)

Christian Vieri remains one of the few players who have played for all three Italian giants – Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. The last mentioned club was where he enjoyed the most successful time in his career.

Inter bought him for €43m in 1999 from Lazio, making him the world’s most expensive player back then. The Italian scored 103 goals in six years for the Nerazzurri, which also happens to be his longest stay at any club.

Apart from that, Vieri also had a memorable time with Atletico Madrid in Spain. One of the reasons why he was never able to carve out a permanent place at any of the clubs he played for was his outspoken nature.3. Marcus Bent (14 clubs)

Marcus Bent was the best nomad Premier League has ever seen. Interestingly, he has never managed to play for the same club twice in the English top-tier.

Bent started out with Brentford where he played for three seasons, the longest he has served for any out of his 14 clubs. He played for 13 clubs in England where had his most successful tint with Ipswich Town, scoring 21 goals in two seasons.

Bent’s last appearance was for Mitra Kukar in Indonesia 2 years ago.2. Romario (15 clubs)

Romario’s skill with the ball was second to none. The Brazilian was probably the best player in the ninties. While he may have a bunch of trophies to boast about, Romario has travelled far wide to achieve all of them.

In a career spanning 24 years, he played in Brazil, Italy, Greece, Uzbekistan, Spain and Angola. His longest stay at a single club came in his time with Barcelona, where he stayed for five seasons. He also clinched the 1999 Ballon d’Or while serving the Catalan giants.

Interestingly, Romario is also the second greatest goalscorer football has ever seen. With a tally of 772 goals, he stands only behind Josef Bican who netted 805 times throughout his career.1. John Burridge (29 clubs)

If you set out to find the biggest football mercenary there ever was, none could lay a better claim for that title than John Burridge. The former English goalkeeper played for a mammoth 29 clubs in his career spanning from 1969 to 1997.

Burridge’s longest stay of four years at a single club came at Blackpool. He also had notable stints at Newcastle and Aston Villa. Want to know an interesting fact?

Since 1992, Burridge made 29 appearances in all the clubs he played for, while appearing in transfer dealings 21 times! It doesn’t get more insane than this, does it?