It’s 24 years since Sol Campbell shocked Tottenham fans by crossing the North London divide, but the wounds still run deep.
The defender came through the ranks at White Heart Lane, going from youth player to club captain and clocked up more than 250 games across nine season. But left fans seething by switching white for red, as he joined bitter rivals Arsenal on a free transfer back in 2001. Campbell would go on to lift two Premier League titles and three FA Cups in a glittering spell for Arsene Wenger’s men – but was never forgiven by Spurs fans, who targeted him with vile chants for the remainder of his career.
Now the former England cap has hit back, in a new advert for a mobile phone that savagely rips into Tottenham almost a quarter of a century after the controversial transfer. In the ad Campbell can be seen changing from a white jumper into a red one as he makes his way through a collection of trophies and medals from his time at Arsenal. He says: “It’s that time of year again, the time where people start to wonder if the grass might be greener. Whether they should switch sides and change allegiances. Take it from me, big moves pay off. Sure people will have opinions, but who cares what people think?
“Of course you could stay with them for another year, but is anything really going to change? It certainly doesn’t look like it to me. If you’re thinking about a transfer this January, I say go for it. It’s not like you’re doing anything outrageous, you’re just switching to something much, much better.”
Campbell then sits down on his sofa and unlocks his Google Pixel phone, asking: “What were we just talking about?” The phone responds: “We were talking about separating delicate whites from strong colours like red in your wash cycle,” to which Campbell smirks and adds, “yeah that was it.”