11 forgotten ballers we can’t believe are now playing in Greece: Sidibe, Jovetic, Schneiderlin…
Former Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United stars are among the 11 forgotten ballers we can’t believe are now playing in Greece.
With its sunkissed beaches, gorgeous food and passionate football scene, Greece has long been a popular destination for nomadic footballers.
We’ve taken a closer look at the Greek Super League and have found 11 players who we can’t believe are now doing the business over there.
Stefan Jovetic
Jovetic has been unfortunate enough to have sustained two ACL injuries throughout his career, stalling his progress despite possessing bundles of ability.
After impressing at Fiorentina, his time in the Premier League with Manchester City in the mid-2010s was fairly forgettable and he’s been through injury hell since.
The Montegero international was particularly unfortunate with injuries during his spell with Monaco as he missed over 150 games for club and country between 2017 and 2021.
He’s still playing today for Olympiacos and has scored seven times in 31 appearances in 2023-24.
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Daniel Podence
Podence was the prototype Wolves player during the Nuno Espirito Santo era; unheralded, Portuguese, technically proficient with an eye for goal.
Still only 28, the forward has spent the season on loan at Olympiacos and has helped them reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League with 13 goals in 39 appearances.
Morgan Schneiderlin
Having impressed in the Premier League with Southampton, Schneiderlin joined Manchester United in 2015 but failed to recapture the form that made United pay £25million for his services.
He played just 11 league minutes under Jose Mourinho before reuniting with former manager Ronald Koeman in Everton in January 2017.
After a bright start, things didn’t go as planned there either and the midfielder then had spells in France and Turkey before joining Kifisia in September 2023.
Baba Rahman
Remarkably, Rahman only left Chelsea last summer. We’d forgive you for thinking he left years ago.
The left-back spent seven consecutive seasons out on loan and finally left Chelsea this summer upon his contract expiring. He joined PAOK and has enjoyed a steady season in his new surroundings.
Domagoj Vida
A stalwart in Croatia’s fairytale World Cup campaigns of 2018 and 2022, Vida has spent the majority of his club career with Eastern European giants like Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kyiv and Besiktas.
Now firmly in the autumn of his playing days, the centre-back joined AEK Athens in 2022 and has gone on to make 63 appearances for the club.
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Bernard
Only 31, Bernard is currently at dozing giants Panathinaikos after spells with Shakhtar, Everton and a brief season with Sharjah in the UAE Pro League.
On an Instagram post after leaving Everton in 2021, the winger wrote: “Unfortunately you who support me and not those who appear here to spread the words of hate DON’T KNOW HALF of what happens behind the scenes, I wanted to be more clear but unfortunately TODAY I can’t.”
Somebody needs to stage an intervention over his usage of capital letters.
Jonny
Another former Wolves stalwart in the land of moussaka and ouzo, Jonny left Molineux after five distinguished years in January 2024 and signed for PAOK on a one-and-a-half-year deal.
The defender has provided two assists in his first 15 appearances as PAOK reached the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.
Zoran Tosic
Manchester United went to a good amount of effort to sign Tosic in 2009, going through a visa appeal process after his initial application was rejected.
He didn’t repay those efforts. Tosic played just twice, both times off the bench, before getting impatient and deciding to leave.
In 2012, he told the Daily Record: “Even now I am always thinking about that moment. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick and should have worked longer to show Sir Alex.
“Maybe I should have stayed and fought for my place. This was Man United after all.”
Now 36, Tosic has spent the last two seasons with mid-table outfit Lamia.
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Nordin Amrabat
Greece is the latest step in Amrabat’s nomadic career that has taken in the delights of Istanbul, Malaga, Riyadh and Watford.
At the ripe old (footballing) age of 37, the winger is turning out for AEK Athens since 2021 and has a respectable 18 goals in 96 appearances for the club.
William Troost-Ekong
Captain of the Nigeria side that reached the AFCON final in 2024, Troost-Ekong is a competent centre-back with an eye for a headed goal.
Having turned out for Udinese, Buraspor and Watford during his club career, the 30-year-old is now at PAOK and we hope he’s taking in the myriad delights of Thessaloniki when the time allows.
Djibril Sidibe
It’s easy to write Sidibe off for his underwhelming loan stint at Everton, but he was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year when Monaco won the title in 2017, and was a part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad.
Now in his 30s, Sidibe is playing for AEK Athens and scored in their surprise Europa League victory at Brighton in September 2023.