10 footballers who refused to celebrate after scoring against their former club

Scoring a goal is frequently greeted with joyous celebrations, except when some of the game’s biggest names score against their previous team.

While Proper Football Men sometimes lampoon the tendency, it is now customary practice to show respect even if the team in question regarded the player as an afterthought.

We looked through the archives and discovered nine players who declined to celebrate after scoring against their former side.

Yankuba Minteh

Minteh refused to celebrate after scoring against Newcastle United in May 2025, and he also made it obvious that he never intended to join Brighton.

Minteh has never played a senior game for Newcastle. The away supporters at the AMEX must have been divided between admiration and puzzlement.

Frank Lampard

Lampard notoriously returned to haunt Chelsea while playing for Manchester City in September 2014.

The great midfielder joined City on loan from New York City, the MLS team he joined after leaving Stamford Bridge.

On his return to the Premier League, Lampard volleyed home a stunning equaliser against Chelsea in one match to win his new team a crucial point.

As predicted, he did not rejoice and had the decency to appear devastated by what he had just done.

Mohamed Salah

Given how many goals he scores, it’s possible that weariness is why Salah normally keeps his celebrations to a minimum while facing his previous clubs.

After scoring for Liverpool against Chelsea in 2017, he did not celebrate, claiming it was to pay honour to those slain in the Sinai mosque tragedy.

Salah’s spectacular strike against the Blues a year later saw him do the relaxing yoga tree posture before being pushed out of it by his ecstatic teammates.

The Egyptian scored twice against Roma in the Champions League in 2018, but did not celebrate.

He had ended the previous season as the Serie A club’s best scorer and was somewhat contrite after scoring both goals in the 5-2 triumph.

Luis Suárez

Suarez did not celebrate after scoring a vital goal against Barcelona in 2021, despite his Atletico Madrid teammates going wild around him. Fair play.

Brahim Diaz

After spent the first several years of his career growing at Manchester City, Brahim chose to show complete respect to his old employers after scoring against them for Real Madrid in 2025.

Raising his hands in apology, the Moroccan international demonstrated perfect magnanimity, which was only somewhat marred by his overzealous eagerness to celebrate Jude Bellingham’s late triumph.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo did not celebrate against past clubs on a couple occasions while at Real Madrid.

His goal against Manchester United in 2013 saved Real Madrid in a difficult Champions League last-16 match.

He raised his hands in silent delight, like he had done in the first leg against Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

In 2016-17, the goal-scoring machine scored against his first professional squad, Sporting Lisbon.

When questioned why he didn’t rejoice, he simply stated, “They made me who I am.” It’s hard to disagree with that.

Robin Van Persie

Van Persie was undeniably one of the world’s top finishers at the start of the 2010s.

His strong form at Arsenal led to his signing by Manchester United in 2012, much to the chagrin of north London fans.

After promising not to celebrate against his former side, the Dutchman kept his word when he scored during their November 2012 match.

The former striker reacted by raising his hands in the air and showing absolutely no emotion on his face.

Given the amount of abuse he received from Arsenal supporters, he must have felt inclined to go full Adebayor – and did celebrate conventionally against the Gunners the following year.

Gabriel Batistuta

‘Batigol’ is Fiorentina’s all-time leading scorer, and he undoubtedly scored against his former team during his debut season with Roma.

After scoring from 25 yards, the Argentine was extremely disappointed and burst into tears on the pitch.

Batistuta subsequently claimed that he understood the Fiorentina fans’ sentiments, knowing that they would return home unhappy.

At the end of the game, he even rushed up to the 3,000 visiting fans and praised them before departing the Olympic Stadium in tears after an emotionally charged night.

Jesse Lingard

Lingard’s coupon was a study of calmness after scoring Manchester United’s victory in the final stages of their Premier League match against West Ham in September 2021.

Lingard had a good loan spell with the Hammers the previous season, and despite scoring the game-winning goal, he chose not to celebrate out of respect.

West Ham supporters are notoriously harsh on some ex-players – just ask Paul Ince and Frank Lampard – and Lingard received both barrels a year later after turning down the east Londoners in favour of Nottingham Forest.