Not that Tottenham Hotspur appear willing to consider an approach from their neighbours and bitter rivals for their captain, let alone sanction a sale.<\/p>\n
He may have been born in Cordoba, northern Argentina, but after five years at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the notion of Romero being allowed to head the four miles south to the Emirates feels extremely problematic at best, sacrilegious at worst.<\/p>\n
And yet, it wouldn\u2019t even be the most controversial transfer in the history of the Arsenal-Spurs rivalry, let alone English football and certainly not globally. It would, though, add to the list of highly-disputed mooted moves that never happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asking myself why he\u2019d choose Arsenal when you know how much it\u2019s going to affect your personal life,\u201d ex-Spurs defender Stephen Clemence previously told The Athletic. \u201cThat\u2019s what surprised me most about his decision. You turn your whole life upside down with a move like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sol Campbell was heading towards Tottenham-legend territory. Born a 30-minute drive from White Hart Lane in the Plaistow district of east London, academy graduate Campbell was still a teenager when he made his first-team debut for Spurs and would blossom into one of the Premier League\u2019s best defenders, an England regular, their captain who lifted the League Cup in 1999 and a player who made more than 300 appearances for them.<\/p>\n
Then, aged 26, he left on a free transfer to further his career ambitions. Disappointing, yes, but understandable. Inter of Italy and Spain\u2019s Barcelona were possible destinations, but instead Campbell shocked English football and caused unimaginable consternation and fury\u2026 by joining Arsenal.<\/p>\n
Spurs fans took this very, very well.<\/p>\n
They hung an effigy of Campbell from a lamppost on Tottenham High Road, flooded their stadium with \u2018Judas\u2019 banners when he returned as an Arsenal player, threw drink bottles and missiles in his direction and endlessly chanted \u2018scum\u2019, among many worse words. His new Arsenal team-mates had booed Campbell in training to prepare him for the reception but, well, nothing could quite compare to the abuse he took.<\/p>\n
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\n Tottenham fans direct their anger at Sol Campbell in November 2001 (Tom Jenkins\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cIn hindsight, I\u2019m not sure if I would sign him again, bearing in mind the difficulties he faced,\u201d Arsenal\u2019s then manager Arsene Wenger later said<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was the most controversial transfer<\/a> in modern English football history, but one Campbell could justify via the two Premier League titles and three FA Cups he won in six seasons with Arsenal. \u201cSpurs fans have not forgotten it, but it was the best thing I could have done for myself,\u201d Campbell said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fellow defender William Gallas may have gone in the opposite direction to Tottenham (also on a free) a few years later, but nothing has compared to Campbell\u2019s move since.<\/p>\n Imagine Bruno Guimaraes ditching this week\u2019s Arsenal move to join Sunderland from Newcastle United instead, or Erling Haaland swapping Manchester City for neighbours United and you\u2019d have something comparable.<\/p>\n The latter switch is not without precedent, though.<\/p>\n Carlos Tevez sort-of swapped Old Trafford for the Etihad Stadium in 2009; he had won two Premier League titles in two seasons having been loaned to United for two years from West Ham but, having elected not to join the club permanently that summer (despite United wanting to sign him), he instead went to City.<\/p>\n This was before their dominance era, so the old noisy neighbours wanted to make a big song and dance out of the deal and erected a huge \u2018Welcome to Manchester\u2019<\/a> billboard to reflect what would soon be a changing of the guard in the city.<\/p>\n \n Manchester City\u2019s \u2018Welcome to Manchester\u2019 billboard after signing Carlos Tevez angered Sir Alex Ferguson (Dave Thompson\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n It was a marketing idea laced with genius, although United manager Sir Alex Ferguson didn\u2019t quite see it that way, calling the stunt \u201cstupid and arrogant\u201d.<\/p>\n The Manchester rivalry is fairly hate-filled, so Wayne Rooney\u2019s dalliance with City when he submitted a transfer request at United in 2010 was pretty controversial, ditto Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s flirtation with the Etihad in 2021 before he returned to Old Trafford after more than a decade with Real Madrid and Juventus. But it\u2019s nothing compared with United\u2019s rivalry with Liverpool.<\/p>\n Players swapping one of those clubs for the other is almost unheard of, to the extent that it has not happened since 1964, when Phil Chisnall moved to Anfield for \u00a325,000 ($34,000) when the rivalry was devoid of the intensity that fills it now.<\/p>\n Even playing for both clubs in a career is rare, with only two men doing it in the Premier League era: Paul Ince (in 1997, two years after leaving United for Inter) and Michael Owen, with the latter seen by many Liverpool fans as a traitor for moving to Old Trafford in 2009, five years after leaving Anfield for Real Madrid.<\/p>\n Only one player has come close to leaving one for the other in modern times, although given United\u2019s staunch opposition to the mooted deal, it perhaps never came that close at all.<\/p>\n Defender Gabriel Heinze wanted to leave in 2007, having lost his place in the team to Patrice Evra. Liverpool were his preferred destination and submitted a bid of \u00a36.8million, which they believed met a minimum-fee release clause.<\/p>\n But United rejected it, and the dispute became bitter. Heinze believed the offer should legally have been accepted, so it went all the way to a Premier League tribunal, which ruled in United\u2019s favour. Heinze never played for them again, eventually joining Real Madrid that same summer.<\/p>\n The Argentina international defender, now a coach at Arsenal, came to regret the saga. He said in 2011<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cI was aware of the rivalry, I knew the risk of going from Manchester to Liverpool and what it means. I hope it doesn\u2019t tarnish the way they (supporters) see me and they will remember the three years I had in the team.\u201d<\/p>\n How many transfers do Liverpool actually need?<\/p>\n Jon Mackenzie<\/p>\n Given how unpopular United are with many other fanbases, moving there can destroy a legacy, like when Robin van Persie joined from Arsenal in 2012, or Alan Smith, who was Leeds United through and through before he broke Yorkshire hearts when signing for the team they despise like no other in 2004.<\/p>\n Steven Gerrard had his Liverpool legacy and connection in mind when he rebuffed Chelsea in 2005 after a long, protracted dalliance with the best team in England at the time, albeit he had just won the Champions League under Rafael Benitez.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-805069294-scaled.jpg\")
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