By Ernest Osogbue
For a long time now, the issue of player loyalty to club has been a cause for debate. This simply means that when a footballer signs for a football club, he is expected to stay loyal, and stick with the club through thick and thin, without complaints. Over the years, however, this maxim has been tested and found wanting. We have seen footballers score for one club today, wheel away in jubilation, while kissing the club badge, only to turn around the next day, and say they want to sign for another club. The less talked about issue, however, is when clubs are disloyal to players who have given them dedicated service over time, by dumping them over minor infractions or due to persistent injuries.
This issue, however, is not limited to football. Across the world of sports, entertainment, and advertising, the issues of brand loyalty have remained toxic, pitting clients against brands, and brands against clients. For instance, Cristiano Ronaldo, caused a stir in 2021, when he removed the bottles of Coca-Cola on the press conference table after a game for Portugal. Ronaldo is famed for his promotion of healthy living and refusal to endorse sugary drinks, which he believes are harmful to the body. The player is rumored to have rejected endorsement deals with Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and others, in the past, over his preference for water. Ronaldo, therefore, has remained loyal to his belief in the superiority of water over fizzy drinks. Many years ago, when American basketball great, Michael Jordan, was still on top of his game, he remained with the Chicago Bulls as the leading man on the courts, while younger players who came after him, were signing for the Bulls on better financial terms. He didn’t threaten to strike or abandon the team, maintaining that he trusted management to do what was right. This is another example of brand loyalty.
On the other hand, however, a few people have been caught endorsing one brand publicly, and then patronizing another. Many years ago, in Lagos, a friend who worked at the Honda Place, had to auction off his Toyota car, following the impending visit of a senior Honda executive from Japan. He didn’t want to be caught promoting a rival brand. Similarly, Alicia Keys, was caught using an iPhone, after being named the Creative Director of Blackberry some years ago. Britney Spears, was also in trouble, after signing a deal with Pepsi-Cola, only to be caught drinking Coca-Cola. In 2006, actress Charlize Theron, wore a Christian Dior wristwatch at a news conference, after penning a million dollar branding deal with Raymond Weil. These are all cases of brand disloyalty, which manifest in football, when a player is tempted by a rival club, while being contracted to another.
Issues have always been raised about footballers, when they seem to put themselves above club loyalty. No one seems to look at the trend of clubsides being disloyal to footballers who have shown them loyalty over time. For instance, Ashley Cole, is yet to be forgiven by Arsenal fans for dumping Highbury for Stamford Bridge in 2006 over contractual disagreements. They still call him ‘Cashley’ Cole. Barcelona fans still fume at Luis Figo, who dumped their club to sign for bitter rivals Real Madrid in 2000. A severed pigs head, which symbolizes greed, was thrown at him from the stands on his return to the Camp Nou, to play for Madrid. Same goes for Sol Campbell, and Tottenham Hotspurs fans, after he dumped Spurs, to sign for bitter North London rivals, Arsenal, in 2001. They still call him Judas till date. Manchester United fans still bear a grudge against Carlos Tevez, after he dumped them and went across town to city rivals, Manchester City, in 2009. Dimitar Berbatov, had however, drawn the first blood the year before, by moving from Tottenham Hotspurs to Manchester United, after promising to join Manchester City. His agent had claimed that his client wanted to be at the top of the mountain, a statement that stung City fans.
The above stories and more, demonstrate how clubs and their fans cry foul when a player makes a supposedly good decision for his own career, but which goes against the club. Instances of club disloyalty to players, are however, mostly downplayed, and are usually seen as normal. Our very own JJ Okocha, was almost sold by Bolton Wanderers to a Qatari club for cash, despite all he had done for the club at the time. In 2005, Sam Allardyce, then manager of the club, said they could do the deal if the price was right. Manchester United easily dumped Mason Greenwood, over accusations of rape and causing bodily harm. Charges that have since been dropped. This is a player who joined the club when he was just 6 years old, and remains their youngest ever goal scorer in European competitions. The same goes for Marcus Rashford, who joined United at the age of 7, and went on to star for them in 426 matches, scoring 138 goals. It was easy for the club to dump the player in 2025 over injuries and a loss of form. Similarly, Aaron Ramsdale was pulled down from number one keeper to the bench at Arsenal, after manager Mikel Arteta, signed his Spanish countryman, David Raya. Ramsdale had to leave in order to find first team football and remain in the England squad. This is a player whose greatest desire at the time, was to be an Arsenal legend. The biggest one of them all, was when David Beckham was forced to leave Manchester United in 2003, after falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson, who had become jealous of his relationship with Victoria Adams, now Victoria Beckham, a former singer with popular all girl musical group, the Spice Girls. Beckham never wanted to leave, but Sir Alex, and United wouldn’t have it any other way. These are just a few instances of club disloyalty to players, which remain under the radar. However, when players express themselves, they’re branded as being disloyal.
This brings us to the matter of Mo Salah and Liverpool, which is currently trending in the news. Salah joined Liverpool in the 2017/2018 season, and has been at the club for eight and half years. He has made over 400 appearances, scoring more than 250 goals for Liverpool in that time. He has won two EPL titles, one UEFA Champions league title, and a club World cup title, among other trophies. He has four EPL golden boots, two EPL player of the season awards, two EPL playmaker of the season awards, and several other team and individual accolades. Earlier this year, he became the third highest Liverpool goalscorer behind club legends, Roger Hunt and Ian Rush. In the last two seasons, rumors were rife that Salah, would move to the lucrative Saudi Arabian league, but the player proved his loyalty by signing a new deal in April 2025.
After winning the EPL title last season, Liverpool has struggled to defend the title this season. Pundits and observers have called on most of the players to up their game, while challenging Arne Slot, the manager, to adopt a change in style. Others have blamed a poor summer transfer business, for the team’s poor form, after Liverpool splashed over half a billion pounds in cash to bring in new players. According to them, there are now too many big egos in the club’s dressing room. In recent days, Mo Salah, has been in the eye of the storm, after being relegated to the bench and then being finally dropped from the match day squad by the manager. In an interview he granted on December 7th, after a 3-3 EPL draw with Leeds United, Salah expressed his frustrations at having been left on the bench for three successive matches. He complained of being scapegoated by the club. And that possibly, someone in the club wanted him out.
Since that interview, all hell has been let loose and Mo Salah and Liverpool will never be the same again. People have branded Salah, as being ungrateful. Others have called him disloyal, and many expletives have been used against the Egyptian forward. Commentators, like Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Wayne Rooney, alongside others, have branded Salah, a disgrace. Others, like Alan Shearer, Paul Merson, Clarence Seedorf, and Gary Lineker, have been more sympathetic, saying that for what the player has achieved for Liverpool, he deserves to speak up when he feels unfairly treated.
The debate is neither here nor there, the point however, is that the player was dropped from the Liverpool squad for a number of games. In the last game against Brighton, however, Salah, was restored to the starting lineup. This however, does not mean that everything has returned to normal. Luckily, however, Salah, has left for the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, which kicks off in Morocco on 21st December. This would enable both club and player to cool off and possibly find a common ground after the temporary separation. The important matter here, however, is the speed at which Salah has been condemned by pundits and fans alike. It’s like he should simply have suffered in silence. On many occasions prior, clubs have not hesitated to discard a player who had previously been loyal, when it suited their desires. It should therefore, not be such a problem when players look out for themselves, because, what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.
It remains to be seen whether Mo Salah has played his last game for Liverpool. Speculations are already rife that he may likely move to the Saudi Arabian league by January. For now, all of that remain in the realms of speculation. All we can do is keep watching, with fingers crossed, to see how club loyalty to player plays out, or how easy it would be to discard a club legend, for simply airing his frustrations on not being in the match day squad.
