10 Players Who Probably Regret Joining Barcelona
8. Eidur Gudjohnsen
If one were to run a fan poll in the morning at Stamford Bridge regarding the cult status of former strikers Eidur Gudjohnsen and Samuel Etoo, there would be no contest, with the former winning by a landslide. Adored by players and supporters alike, the Icelandic poster boy spent six wonderful years with the London side, where he showed the lethal goalscoring form which earned him a dream move to the Nou Camp in 2006. However, if one were to run the same poll in Barcelona, the Cameroonian international scorer of over 100 goals for the club including two Champions League final strikes would be the clear victor.
The relevance of that relates to why Gudjohnsen failed so miserably in Barcelona, failing to replicate the sort of form that earned him cult status at Stamford Bridge. With Barcelona already having the lethal Samuel Etoo on their books, the efficient but never world-class Gudjohnsen could never pose a potent threat to his standing in the starting XI.
Signed for £9 million in the summer of 2006, he scored 11 goals in his debut season, including a strike against his former side in the Champions League. Despite a decent first season serving as Etoos back-up, Gudjohnsen will have winced during the summer of 2007 as Barcelona acquired the services of Arsenals Thierry Henry.
From then on, the writing was on the wall, as the Icelander struggled in vain to force his way into the starting line-up. The following two seasons saw just five more league goals from the hitman, before leaving in 2009 for Monaco.
''Of course I am happy about us being in the finals of the Champions League, but I do not deny that I am rather unhappy about my status and I can very well imagine that this will be my last season with Barcelona. I do not understand why my status changes this suddenly because I thought I was doing well. This is difficult to swallow. It is not very enjoyable to just watch and sit on the bench. Eidur Gudjohnsen, 2009.
He has become something of a journeyman in the interim, signing for Spurs, Stoke City, Fulham AEK Athens, Cercle Brugge and Club Brugge amassing a total of 17 goals in the process.