Dominic Solanke's move to Tottenham is nearing completion. Solanke will join Spurs after admitting to being an Arsenal fan growing up. The striker joins the likes of Jamie Carragher and Harry Kane in playing for the rivals of their boyhood team.
Growing up as a die-hard football fan, it can be difficult to imagine playing for your boyhood club's biggest rival. The conflict that can be built between two clubs can be so intense, that many fans would refuse to sport the jersey of their fiercest adversary, let alone actually play for them. However, the beautiful game can also be a strange one, and for some of its stars, the biggest opportunities come in the form of teams that they wouldn't have even pictured themselves playing for in their youth.
For these ten names in particular, they decided to put rivalry to one side and change allegiances for the sake of their careers. One of the most unexpected things in football is for a player to join a rival team. Here are the top five players who shocked the world and did the unthinkable.
Dominic Solanke Tottenham's newest number nine , Dominic Solanke , is returning to London having previously graduated from the Chelsea academy as a youngster. The England international posted a career-best 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth in the 2024/24 season, and is set to fill the void as the focal point that is sorely needed in Ange Postecoglou 's squad. However, despite having been brought up at Chelsea, Solanke's support originally lay elsewhere in London.
Specifically with Spurs' crosstown rivals Arsenal . The striker revealed this when speaking to the BBC, admitting that he had even attended a few Emirates Cup games as a child. Harry Kane If Spurs fans are worrying that they are signing a Gunner to lead the line for them, they really shouldn't be.
After all, their greatest-ever goalscorer was also an Arsenal fan growing up. In fact, Harry Kane was once on the books at Arsenal before he would go on to become one of the greatest forwards of his generation at White-Hart Lane. At the Arsenal academy, it was admitted by coach Dan Buck that Kane actually found himself being left out of the team more often than not, with Benik Afobe being preferred to him.
Ultimately, the now Bayern Munich man would leave the red side of North London in favour of the Lilywhites, leading many to wonder what could've been. How Arsenal let a future England captain and goalscorer slip through their fingers. Jamie Carragher In many people's eyes, Jamie Carragher is Mr Liverpool.
Having spent the entirety of his professional career at Anfield, it is hard to picture the no-nonsense defender in any other colour than red. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Carragher has more appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool than any other player (508). However, the man himself revealed he grew up sporting the colour blue instead : "As a kid my life revolved around Everton, in 1985 and throughout my childhood, all I cared about was Everton.
I'd watch the 1986 World Cup. Everton lost the double that season to Liverpool. If you'd have asked me would I rather Everton won the double or England win the World Cup.
.. Everton win the double every day of the week!" Jamie Carragher explains why he does not appear in any of the celebratory photographs.
John Terry If Carragher is Mr Liverpool, then there can be no doubt that John Terry is the king of Chelsea. One of the greatest ever captains the Premier League has seen , if you were to cut Terry's arm, he would bleed blue. The most infamous moment of his career came in 2008, when he missed a crucial penalty in the Champions League final against Manchester United.
In a cruel twist of fate, it ended up handing his boyhood club the trophy: "I was Man United growing up, you know what it's like when you're a boy, you want to support the team that's winning everything. And my dad and granddad were Man United fans." Luka Modric Croatian legend and former Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric has had one of the most successful spells a player could ask for at any club since moving to Real Madrid in 2012.
Since then, he has won an incredible six Champions Leagues and four La Liga titles. In doing so, he has taken silverware away from the team he supported growing up. Modric's team of choice was, of course, Barcelona.
Former international teammate Ivan Rakitic revealed as much, saying that he used to joke with the 38-year-old was more of a Barcelona fan than he was, despite the fact that Rakitic once played for the club. Raheem Sterling Imagine playing for not one, but two of your favourite clubs' biggest rivals. Well, if your name is Raheem Sterling , you don't have to.
Sterling has bookended his career at London clubs QPR and Chelsea, but sandwiched in between are his most well-known ventures at Liverpool. This is despite the fact that Sterling himself admitted to being a passionate Red Devil: "I shouldn't really say this - not now, definitely not now! - but when I was young I was a massive United fan. I had an old United kit, from when they won the last FA Cup.
I was at the final in 2007." Matt Doherty Matt Doherty made a name for himself with some impressive displays at right-wing back as Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to the Premier League fold under Nuno Espirito Santo. This would eventually earn him a much-discussed move to Tottenham, which led to fans digging into his social media past.
The Irish defender was not shy of making posts about his adoration for Arsenal before he found himself in the spotlight. To his and the club's credit, they did not hide from his past activity, instead using it to their advantage to create one of the most hilarious transfer announcements of all time. Kevin De Bruyne You know that you love a football club as a boy when you sleep in bed covers draped in the images of your favourite team.
That is exactly the case for Kevin De Bruyne, who used to sleep in Liverpool bed sheets as a child . Before going on to become one of the greatest players in Premier League history , De Bruyne was an avid fan of the Reds and had a particular soft spot for striker Michael Owen. The child inside him must be routinely crushed as the Belgian has often been the foe who comes out on top, stopping Liverpool from winning several league titles since joining Manchester City.
He's one of the Premier League's greatest-ever maestros but how much is Kevin De Bruyne worth? Paolo Maldini When you think of a one-club man , you think of Paolo Maldini . The Italian stallion is synonymous with AC Milan, and is the only player to have lifted European Cups in three separate decades as a player. In total, the full-back made 901 appearances for the Rossoneri, and would go on to have roles behind the scenes after his retirement.
Incredibly though, despite being the face of Milan and forever holding an affiliation with them, Maldini did not support them in his youth. Instead, the 56-year-old was a devoted Juventus fan. Little did he know he would eventually go on to become a thorn in their side.
Gareth Bale Tottenham's former Welsh wizard is up there along with the likes of Paul Gascoigne as being one of the most electrifying players to have ever played for the club. Gareth Bale was an unstoppable force before his move to Real Madrid and although he never hit the same heights during his brief return in 2020, it was not enough to tarnish his legacy at the club. Yet again though, it is another case of a Tottenham legend supporting Arsenal, as Bale not only conceded that this was the case, but he also revealed that growing up, his favourite players were Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
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