Top 10 Premier League ‘scallywags’ who forced their transfer moves

Tyrone Mears Another Paul Jewell escape act, this time with a bit more cloak and dagger. Derby’s Tyrone Mears had heard that Marseille were interested in taking him on loan, and the club made an offer, only for it to be rejected by Derby as ‘laughable’. This however didn’t stop Mears from meeting with officials from the French club. After one particular training session, Mears escaped through a bathroom window and crawled beneath Jewell’s office window so as not to be seen leaving the ground, so he could go to the meeting. Jewell was incensed as Mears got his move abroad. There were only seven appearances in all at Marseille for Mears before he was sold to Burnley a year later.

Darren Bent It was always on the cards that Darren Bent would be leaving Spurs last summer, but the striker made sure everyone knew where his desired destination was with his twitter account.

“Stop f*****g around, Levy. Do I wanna go Hull NO. Do I wanna go Stoke NO. Do I wanna go Sunderland YES”.

Frustrated during his time at White Hart Lane, particularly when Harry Redknapp brought back old boys Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane, not to mention with comparisons with Redknapp’s wife, Bent got his wish and moved to Wearside.

Robinho Unhappy with potentially being a makeweight in the deal that could have taken Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, the Brazilian forward made it clear that he was ready to move on if that was how the club felt about him. As Real Madrid kicked off the start of the 08/09 season against Deportivo La Coruna, Robinho called his own press conference to reiterate his desire to leave and organise a move away from Real. He claimed he wanted to go to Chelsea, but when Chelsea posted a picture of him holding their shirt it angered Real bosses and they sold him to Manchester City instead.

Joleon Lescott From average Championship defender to England international during his time at Goodison Park, Joleon Lescott had enhanced his reputation enough for millionaires Manchester City to come knocking. David Moyes was adamant that Lescott was contracted to the club and going nowhere, but Lescott had other ideas. After Man City’s £14m bid was rejected, with Everton holding out for £30m, Lescott had four separate meetings with Moyes stating his desire to head to Eastlands. Eventually the player was ‘forced to go public’ with his request. His last appearance for the club was the 6-1 humilation against Arsenal before he made his move for £24m.

Cristiano Ronaldo After going one summer without his move to boyhood team Real Madrid, the Portugese forwards was not prepared for the same to happen again. Despite being paid a basic salary of £120k a week, Ronaldo claimed that he was a ‘modern day slave’ and that Man Utd were keeping him against his will. Two years of expressing his love for Real Madrid eventually earned him the world record transfer that only his ego could have hoped for.

Who have we missed? Let us know who else forced their way out of a club.

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