5 football players who turned down big money transfers

Sometimes, loyalty is more important than money in football. We have seen the likes of Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti who have stayed in their teams for an extremely long period of time because they have been loyal to their clubs for almost their entire career. As professional athletes, it is also important to give the fans what they want, if they want them to stay, they better do so in order to keep their morale.

Many say the sport is all about money, but these 5 football players have proven them wrong, as they have rejected some of the biggest money moves offered by top-class football clubs in Europe, and have decided to stay where they are, winning more glories and registering their names in the hearts of their very own fans.

There will be no surprise that they have kept silverware before money as their ultimate priority. Loyalty matters and they prove it to all of us.

#5 Gianluigi Buffon - Barcelona

Buffon rejected Barcelona in order to join Juventus

One of the best goalkeepers in the world, the former world cup winner definitely needs no introduction. Considered as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he has appeared for more than 500 games for the Serie A giants Juventus and has also played for Parma in the late 90s.

Albeit, before his arrival at the Juventus stadium, Buffon was offered a first-team role at Barcelona in 2001, and at that time, La Blaugrana was completely trailing both in the league and in the European competition. To everybody's surprise, Buffon made a move to Juventus as he thought that they were the bigger club at that point in time. It was also reported that the Italian goalkeeper was being offered a hefty pay by the Catalan giants.

#4 Diego Godin - Manchester City

Godin rejected Manchester City to stay at Madrid

While Manchester City won the Premier League title in the 2013/14 season, there was yet another club who unexpectedly won the league title in Spain after a brief period. Diego Godin's leadership led his side to the La Liga title in the 2013/14 season, where his performance was completely unparallel along with his team.

A little-known fact, however, is that then Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was ready to meet the €40million buyout clause for the Uruguayan defender, as he was amongst the top defenders in the world.

In addition, Vincent Kompany was facing all sorts of issues related to injuries and wasn't able to make frequent appearances. But Godin decided to stick with Diego Simeone and reject the extremely high payroll offered by City, taking his team to the UEFA Champions League finals twice. There is no doubt that Godin will remain with Atleti for a very long time.

#3 Xavi - FC Bayern

Xavi rejected a move to Bayern in order to stay with Barcelona.

With just one title in the 2013/14 season, it was regarded as one of the worst years in the history of Barcelona in over a decade, as they aren't used to winning such few titles. While Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League in 2014 right before the world cup, Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich was surely making an impact in their league. The biggest surprise, though, was the fact that they made an offer to a midfielder who was unlikely to leave his club.

By the end of 2013/14 season, Bayern made an extremely shocking offer to the Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez and was ready to pay any sum for the Spaniard. In return, Xavi rejected the offer and decided to stick with La Blaugrana saying that he wanted to win the treble with his current club. Instead, the German giants ended up signing Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid, yet another surprising move.

#2 Steven Gerrard - Chelsea & Real Madrid

A simple piece of advice from Gerrard's father saved his career.

In 2004, Chelsea made a move for Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who is easily one of the greatest English midfielders in the world, and was attracting all sorts of attention from some of the biggest names in world football. However, rumours were circling about his departure to rivals Chelsea, as the rumours become true after a phone text to then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was leaked down the line, where Gerrard said the following:

"I want to let you know that I am okay to join Chelsea"

However, something unusual happened when his father gave him the biggest advice of his career, saying that if he stays at Liverpool, he will become a legend. A year later, Gerrard did so by winning the biggest price in Europe in a match that we will never forget.

The Istanbul miracle was surely something that convinced Gerrard to stay at the Anfield for a long time. However, this didn't end here as Mourinho made a second offer while he was in charge of Real Madrid. Gerrard decided to reject the big money move and continue with Liverpool

#1 Jamie Vardy - Arsenal

Leicester City did the impossible by winning the 2015/16 Premier League title in an extremely dramatic manner when Chelsea defeated Tottenham. Vardy's performance in that particular season was extremely exceptional, as he caught the attention of some of the most prestigious clubs in world football.

In the very next season, there was no surprise that the English international would be departing for a bigger name and Arsenal were ready to offer all that it took in order to secure the signature of the league top scorer.

The Gunners offered Vardy a long-term contract and was being looked like a replacement for their struggling striker Oliver Giroud. However, he decided not to take the contract and stay at Leicester with Mahrez and co. The Leicester City fans were extremely delighted to hear this particular news, as he has been a part of the club since then.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram