10 Most Controversial Transfers Of The Premier League Era

5. William Gallas To Chelsea (And Spurs)

Playing for not one, not two but three different London clubs throughout your career is never going to win you any popularity contests. And nor will threatening to deliberately score own goals unless you're allowed to leave. Yet William Gallas did both, and remains reviled to this day. Gallas moved to England from Marseille in 2001 and joined Chelsea for £6.2 million. His time at Stamford Bridge soon turned sour however when, in 2007 and with his contract running out, he refused to sign a new deal and handed in a transfer request. With Arsenal interested and Chelsea unwilling to sell, the cente-back allegedly threatened to deliberately score own goals if he was not allowed to leave Stamford Bridge. The Frenchman was reluctantly sold by the Blues to the Gunners in 2006 but courted yet more controversy four years later when, in 2010, he opted to join their deadly rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The move meant that Gallas became the first player to appear for both Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs - a statistic that won the defender very few friends.