Late move of the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid from Chelsea proved to be one of the biggest transfers of the summer. The player finally made his dream come true, joining arguably the biggest club in the world from a team that is not even good enough for the Champions League. For some reason Chelsea fans got offended by the move, calling Thibaut a traitor, hunting for glory. They probably forgot that the Belgian helped them win two Premier League titles, the League Cup and the FA Cup during his time with the club. But don’t get me wrong, Courtois is still a traitor, although for a whole different reason. He spent three years with his new team’s bitter rivals Atletico Madrid from 2011 to 2014. It was a successful spell that saw him win the UEFA Europa League, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. After lifting the Copa Del Rey in 2013, Thibaut was seen chanting a dirty song, abusing Real Madrid fans, with the words ‘to f*** themselves up the ***’.

However, he wasted no time to express his love for Real Madrid after completing a dream switch from England. Clearly, Atletico fans reminded him of his past with the club and claimed they would organize a flash-mob on his first visit to Wanda Metropolitano, throwing the cheapest rat toys from Ikea at the player.

Obviously, Thibaut Courtois is not the first traitor in football world. There have been other players who completed moves to bitter rivals and here are the most notorious ones.

Luis Figo

Quite a lot of players moved to arch rivals after spending some time with other clubs. It doesn’t cause huge outrage among fans as such moves don’t hurt their feelings too much. However, Luis Figo chose to complete a transfer directly from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000. He wasn’t a regular player at the Catalan club – he was their leader, top performer and the main playmaker. He turned into villain at the moment he switched to bitter rivals Real Madrid for the world record fee. The pinnacle of the Catalan hate happened during El Clasico at Camp Nou on 23rd of November 2002, when the Portuguese tried to take a corner and was attacked with a rain of coins, plastic bottles, a glass whisky bottle and, most memorably, a pig’s head.

Luis Enrique

Spain national team head coach Luis Enrique is widely regarded as un ‘Cule’, however, he became a star player at Real Madrid, where he played from 1991 to 1996. He won the 1994/1995 La Liga and netted a goal in 5-0 thrashing of Barcelona. However, in 1996 he claimed he did not get enough recognition and support from Real Madrid fans and club and moved to Camp Nou. He then went on to win two La Liga and two Copa Del Rey titles and later became a successful manager, guiding Blaugrana to multiple titles.

Ronaldo

Two-times Ballon D’Or winner Ronaldo did not move directly between arch-rivals but completed controversial moves after spells with other clubs. He shone at Barcelona in 1996/1997 season and moved to Inter Milan for five seasons. His spell with the Italian outfit was marred with injuries and in 2002 he returned to Spain, joining Real Madrid. It is never a sign of strong moral standards to play for both Spanish giants, but the Brazilian could not resist to join the ‘Galacticos’ project. Five years later he returned to Italy and joined Inter’s arch-rivals Milan.

Carlos Tevez

The Argentine has never been an example of moral qualities, being rather a mercenary than an loyal man with dignity. However, his move across Manchester in 2009 made him a villain among the Red part of the city. Tevez spent two years with United and won all possible titles in 2008 and 2009. However, he had strained relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson and preferred to put on the blue shirt, joining the big-money City project. The banner, put on by Manchester City, triggered a famous claim from Alex Ferguson: 'A small club with a small mentality'..