From Ibrahimovic to Roy Keane: 15 elite footballers who suffered relegation
August 5, 2026 8:48 am
Credit: Tosin Oyediran/Google Gemini AI
Winning trophies, lifting individual awards and becoming club legends do not always guarantee safety from relegation.
Football history is littered with examples of some of the game’s biggest names suffering the ultimate disappointment of seeing their clubs drop out of the top flight.
World-class players, Ballon d’Or contenders, Champions League winners and Premier League icons have all discovered that individual brilliance alone cannot always rescue a struggling team.
Some rebuilt their careers immediately, winning league titles and major honours elsewhere.
Others remained with their clubs to fight for promotion, while a few saw relegation become one of the defining moments of otherwise glittering careers.
Here are 15 renowned footballers who experienced relegation despite their status as some of the biggest names in world football, PUNCH Online reports.
1. Michael Owen — Newcastle United (Premier League, 2008–09)
Newcastle signed Owen from Real Madrid in a club-record deal in 2005, but injuries limited his impact.
The Magpies were relegated from the Premier League in 2009 after a disappointing campaign.
Owen later joined Manchester United, where he won the Premier League title.
2. Rio Ferdinand — Queens Park Rangers (Premier League, 2014–15)
After winning six Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League with Manchester United, Ferdinand joined Queens Park Rangers in 2014.
His only season at Loftus Road ended in relegation before he retired.
3. Gabriel Batistuta — Fiorentina (Serie A, 1992–93)
Batistuta scored 16 Serie A goals during the 1992-93 campaign but could not prevent Fiorentina from being relegated.
He stayed with the club, helped them secure immediate promotion and remained one of their greatest-ever players.
4. Roy Keane — Nottingham Forest (Premier League, 1992–93)
Keane experienced relegation with Nottingham Forest in the inaugural Premier League season before earning a then-British record transfer to Manchester United, where he became one of England’s most decorated captains.
5. Zlatan Ibrahimović — Malmö FF (Allsvenskan, 1999)
Long before becoming one of Europe’s most prolific strikers, Ibrahimović endured relegation with hometown club Malmö during his breakthrough season.
He soon joined Ajax and launched one of football’s greatest careers.
6. Erik Lamela — River Plate (Argentine Primera División, 2011)
Lamela was part of the River Plate squad that suffered the Argentine giants’ first-ever relegation from the top flight in 2011 before securing a move to AS Roma.
7. Oliver Bierhoff — Ascoli (Serie A, 1991–92)
Before becoming one of Germany’s leading strikers and the hero of the UEFA Euro 1996 final, Bierhoff experienced relegation with Italian club Ascoli early in his professional career.
8. Nwankwo Kanu — Portsmouth (Premier League, 2009–10)
Kanu was part of the Portsmouth side relegated after the club entered administration.
The former Arsenal striker remained one of the club’s most celebrated players after helping them win the 2008 FA Cup.
9. Finidi George — Ipswich Town (Premier League, 2001–02)
After successful spells with Ajax and Real Mallorca, Finidi joined Ipswich Town.
Just a year after qualifying for the UEFA Cup, Ipswich endured a dramatic collapse and were relegated from the Premier League.
10. Victor Anichebe — Sunderland (Premier League, 2016–17)
Anichebe featured for Sunderland during the campaign that ended the Black Cats’ decade-long stay in the Premier League.
11. Wilfred Ndidi — Leicester City (Premier League, 2024–25)
The Nigeria midfielder was part of the Leicester City side relegated from the Premier League in the 2024-25 season after the Foxes struggled throughout the campaign.
12. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink — Atlético Madrid (La Liga, 1999–2000)
Hasselbaink finished as La Liga’s top scorer with 24 goals, but Atlético Madrid were surprisingly relegated from Spain’s top flight in 2000.
The Dutch striker later returned to England and enjoyed successful spells with Chelsea and Middlesbrough.
13. Paolo Di Canio — West Ham United (Premier League, 2002–03)
Despite boasting a squad that included Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Frédéric Kanouté, West Ham United were relegated at the end of the 2002-03 season.
The Hammers finished 18th with 42 points, still one of the highest points totals by a relegated Premier League club.
Di Canio scored an 89th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City on the final day, but the result was not enough to keep West Ham in the top flight.
14. Georginio Wijnaldum — Newcastle United (Premier League, 2015–16)
Wijnaldum scored 11 Premier League goals in his only season with Newcastle, but the Magpies were relegated after finishing 18th.
He joined Liverpool that summer and went on to win the UEFA Champions League and Premier League.
15. Andy Robertson — Hull City (Premier League, 2016–17)
Robertson impressed despite Hull City’s relegation in 2017.
His performances earned him a move to Liverpool, where he developed into one of the world’s best left-backs, winning the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Sources: Premier League, Serie A and club records; FourFourTwo; FIFA; BBC Sport; Transfermarkt; The Athletic.
Tosin Oyediran is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of professional experience in reporting and storytelling. He is known for conducting incisive interviews and producing compelling human-angle stories that bring clarity and depth to the news. Tosin covers a broad range of beats including politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment, with a strong focus on people-centred reporting. His work reflects firsthand newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a commitment to accurate, engaging, and trustworthy journalism.
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