The boyhood teams of some the game’s biggest names

Generally speaking, Premier League footballers are well advised to be discreet about the team they truly support. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of David Bentley, a supposed lifelong Arsenal fan who suddenly professed to be a boyhood Spurs fan upon switching to the north London side. With this imprudent declaration in mind, Spoiler correspondent Ben Baker has rounded up ten footballers whose loyalties don’t necessarily lay with their employers…

Andrei Arshavin
Despite only recently joining the Gunners, fan favourite Arshavin has never hidden the fact that Barcelona are and always have been his team of choice. He has said he was devastated when a move to the Catalan giants never fully materialised when he was at Zenit and has even stated that he would love to play for Barca since he has been at Arsenal. Now if that isn’t a ploy to gain a bigger contract…

John Terry
Mr. Chelsea didn’t make it to Manchester City in the end this summer. Many Chelsea fans will like to think that it is because he is Blue through and through. However, Terry was actually a Manchester Utd fan growing up. Could this be why he couldn’t bring himself to join the Citizens?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The baby faced assassin made a name for himself at Manchester Utd,

Also appearing on a computer near you…

Ian rush plays with his new Liverpool FC mobile phone, a steal at just £14,490
[Daily Mail, buy one here]

It’s official: Cheryl Cole is the sexiest woman in the world
[FHM]

Lothar Matthaus thinks Michael Ballack’s days at Chelsea could be over
[Goal.com]

Danielle Bux forgets her shirt
[The Mirror]

Interestment’s latest Football XI
[Interestment]

Sony turn a pitch into a television (it’s less impressive than it sounds)
[The Offside]

Manchester Utd justify their ticket price hikes
[Dirty Tackle]

Has the man completely run out of ideas?

With the big names at Newcastle (Given, Owen, Duff, um, Butt) likely to demand relocation once the transfer window inches open again, it seems that The Spoiler might have inadvertently predicted the future for dinky little Michael Owen. Only a week ago the big talk was that Benitez was going to wage war on Villa in a bid for Wigan tough guy Emile Heskey, and now the loud clamour in all of the football gossip salons is that Owen is a target too - we joked about that, but it seems that Rafa was reading with a very straight face.

In which case, Benitez, for your next challenge: Ian Rush?

Also appearing on a computer near you…

Watch out Beijing - Record-breaking Australian Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice has just split with her boyfriend
[WithLeather]

Top Gear presenters get a £10,000 per-show pay rise - Lord only knows how much they are being paid in total…
[Grid Crasher]

Does Nereida Gallardo even own any bikini tops? (NSFW)
[NSFWPOA via On205th]

Tottenham bid for £18million star striker
[Caught Offside]

The Gaffer - It’s what Ian Rush drinks
[The Gaffer]

Play the Cristiano Ronaldo escape to Madrid game!
[Mousebreaker via Pies]

David Beckham the cockney chimney sweep
[Kickette]