6 pairs of former Premier League players you had no idea are now team-mates elsewhere

Former Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal stars are among our list of former Premier League players we can’t believe are now playing alongside one another in far-flung corners of the footballing globe.

For many footballers, playing for top Premier League clubs represents a career pinnacle. That can certainly be said for some of this lot, while others appear to be relishing the challenge of making themselves cult heroes away from the spotlight.

We’ve identified six sets of ex-Premier League footballers we had no idea are now team-mates elsewhere.

Stefan Savic & John Lundstram

Grizzled Montenegran veteran Savic is best associated with his 200+ matches for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, but in his younger days he played a fringe role in Manchester City’s 2011-12 title victory – his one and only season at The Etihad.

In the summer, he left Atleti after nine years of service and immediately joined Trabzonspor, where he shares a dressing room with former Rangers midfielder and one-time Sheffield United FPL hero Lundstram – who also arrived as a free agent.

Trabzonspor are also home to Croatian Mislav Orsic, but we figured “former Premier League player” was pushing it a bit given he made one sad, solitary appearance for Saints in their doomed 2022-23 relegation campaign.

You know that old “dudes can literally just sit around and name old sports players and just have the best time” adage? Couldn’t be more apt when browsing Turkish Super Lig squads. Now and forever, the Super Lig always delivers.

Tiemoue Bakayoko & Shola Shoretire

It’s a good job that N’Golo Kante was a glittering success at Stamford Bridge, because their mid-2010s midfield recruitment otherwise left a lot to be desired – with Bakayoko, fresh from a starring role in that title-winning Monaco side, filed as a flop alongside Danny Drinkwater.

After a so-so debut season, Bakayoko saw out the remaining five years of his contract in a series of loans away – AC Milan, Monaco, Napoli, Milan again – before departing for Lorient last summer but he ultimately failed to kickstart his career back in France.

A few years back Shoretire was talked up as the next bright young talent out of Manchester United’s academy, but he only ever broke through to make a few cameo appearances for the club.

The Newcastle-born winger (we’re still convinced he was named after Shola Ameobi) was released by the Red Devils at the end of last season.

The two players joined reigning Greek Super League champions PAOK in the summer as free agents. They’ve made an iffy start to their title defence with just five wins from nine outings so far, but they’re only a point off league leaders Aris at the time of writing.

Erik Lamela & Anthony Martial

The Greek top flight appears to be gunning for Turkey’s crown as the hot new destination for Premier League stars who have long since lost their lustre.

Another pair of no-fee summer signings, Lamela and Martial have joined AEK Athens.

Fate seems to bring these two together. You might remember Martial getting a red card for fouling Lamela during Manchester United’s lockdown 6-1 home defeat to Tottenham back in 2021. The following year they linked up at Sevilla, where Martial spent an unremarkable half-season loan.

At the time of writing, the two players have only spent 40 minutes on the pitch together for AEK, who sit third – two points behind PAOK – in the table.

READ NEXT: 6 pairs of Premier League footballers we can’t believe were team-mates elsewhere

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player that broke the Premier League transfer record?

Toby Alderweireld & Vincent Janssen

BENELUX mates reunited once more. Alderweireld was a great signing for Tottenham, having played over 200 times for the club and a key role in their run to the 2019 Champions League final.

The same can’t be said of Janssen, who arrived a year later but never lived up to his £17million fee – scoring just two Premier League goals for Spurs.

While Alderweireld remained at Tottenham until 2021, with a brief sojourn at Qatari outfit Al-Duhail before returning to Belgium with Royal Antwerp, Janssen departed all the way back in 2019 – at which point he took a wonderfully leftfield turn to join Mexican giants Monterrey, with whom he won a Liga MX, Copa MX and CONCACAF Champions League.

Silverware has followed in Antwerp, with Alderweireld and Janssen key players at either of the pitch as the Belgian side completed a league and cup double in 2022-23. They’re now into their third season with the club.

QUIZ: Planet Football’s ultimate Premier League quiz: 30 questions to test your knowledge

Odion Ighalo & Juninho Bacuna

That decent-ish Manchester United lockdown loan sticks out like a sore thumb in Ighalo’s post-Watford career, with the stint at Old Trafford sandwiched somewhere between Changchun Yatai, Shanghai Shenhua, Al-Shabab, Al-Hilal and Al-Wehda.

Ighalo is approaching a century of Saudi Pro League goals across his last three clubs and is currently part of an eclectic dressing room that features former Huddersfield midfielder Bacuna, who signed from Birmingham City in the summer.

Mohamed Elneny & Neeskens Kebano

Elneny quietly slipped out of the exit door after eight years with Arsenal, having played an increasingly peripheral role for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners in his latter years.

The vastly experienced Egypt international left Europe to sign for UAE Pro League outfit Al-Jazira, who are owned by Sheikh Mansour – albeit not officially under the City Football Group umbrella.

The club’s largely Emirati squad boasts a few notable overseas stars, including French World Cup winner Nabil Fekir – once almost of Liverpool – and the brilliantly named Neeskens Kebano, who joined from Fulham last year.