6 of the most infamous guards of honour in football history: Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd…
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are just three clubs who have performed a guard of honour when they definitely didn’t want to.
The debate over the practise, which is typically performed for league champions, intensified after Liverpool won the Premier League title in 2025 and pundits queued up to question the gesture of respect.
We’ve gone through the archives and found six guards of honour that were definitely conducted through gritted teeth.
Man Utd for Chelsea, 2005
‘I had no intention of surrendering to Abramovich’s wealth in the months to come,’ wrote Sir Alex Ferguson in his 2013 autobiography of the time he ordered his players to assemble and welcome England’s new champions to Old Trafford.
The likes of Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy were in the starting line-up that gave Chelsea a guard of honour.
But United’s show of respect in May 2005 was made to look meek as Chelsea romped to a 3-1 win, taking them to 94 points for the season.
Neville later described the feeling as being akin to “your missus leaving you and being asked to hang the new bloke’s clothes up in your old wardrobe”.
Chelsea for Man Utd’s reserves, 2007
Two years later, neither Ferguson nor Jose Mourinho picked full-strength teams when the Blues offered that same courtesy at Stamford Bridge.
But the sight of John Terry clapping Kieran Lee, Chris Eagles and Dong Fangzhuo onto the pitch before a 0-0 draw was one that will keep non-Chelsea fans warm into old age.
Terry would learn from this experience, as we shall see later in the article.
Barcelona for Real Madrid, 2008
It’s not just English football where guards of honour are performed in recognition of champions.
In the 2008 Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu, the away team performed the ‘passillo’ to mark Madrid winning the La Liga title.
“We don’t like that they are celebrating the title, but at the same time, it gives us motivation to win the game,” Carles Puyol said in justification.
“I won’t enjoy doing it, but Madrid have earned it on the pitch and you have to acknowledge the champion.”
Madrid rubbed salt into Barca’s gaping wounds with a 4-1 victory. The defeated Catalans would appoint Pep Guardiola months later and embark on the most successful period in their history.
Throughout this success, Madrid gave Barcelona precisely zero guards of honour. You’d expect nothing else from the world’s sorest losers.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? Man Utd’s XI that got a guard of honour at Chelsea
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club to win the English league title?
Robin van Persie
One of the most memorable guards of honour – and one of the most awkward.
In the summer of 2012, Robin van Persie had unceremoniously left Arsenal for Manchester United in a quest to win the Premier League title.
His 26 goals helped United to success, meaning we were treated to the sight of Arsenal stood in orderly fashion to welcome England’s new champions to a soundtrack of boos.
This built to a crescendo as Van Persie was the last United player to walk out, later scoring a penalty on his return to north London.
“I want the traditions of English football to be respected,” said Arsene Wenger. “That is what great clubs should do,” said Ferguson.
The thoughts of his old team-mates, the ones who weren’t mentally compiling shopping lists anyway, were sadly unavailable.
Liverpool for Chelsea, 2015
“It’s not nice when you’re doing it for other people, but this football club has always shown respect and the guard of honour comes with tradition,” Gerrard said about Liverpool honouring Chelsea’s title win in May 2015.
“Chelsea have won the league, they are champions, have a terrific manager, and deserve the guard of honour today, but it certainly wasn’t nice doing it.”
Gerrard did at least score and deny Chelsea victory in the match itself, sparing a word for the home fans that had taunted him all game before partaking in a standing ovation upon his 79th-minute substitution: “Nice of them to turn up today for once.”
John Terry
Not only did Chelsea and Sunderland give Terry a guard of honour before his 717th and final Blues’ match in May 2017, but his team-mates repeated the gesture in the 26th minute as Terry substituted himself.
“I kind of negotiated with the manager to play 26 minutes and come off,” Terry told Sky Sports.
“I think that we had to find the best for him – to start the game and to be substituted in 26 minutes, his shirt number,” Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said afterwards.
“To see our players prepare a guard of honour for him was great, a fantastic idea.
“He deserved this. He’s a legend of this club, not just this club, but one of the best defenders in the world.”
For millions of others, the whole incident was the definition of hubris. Even those more sympathetic to Terry will have admitted it was weird.