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The lure of winning the Champions League and Premier League titles with Chelsea have proved irresistible to Nicolas Anelka as he packs his bags and moves town again.
Despite signing a four-year contract with Premier League rivals Bolton Wanderers at the start of the season, the much-travelled France striker has decided to join his eighth club in 11 years.
Anelka returns to London where he first made a name for himself, good and bad, at Arsenal a decade ago.
Manager Arsene Wenger signed him as a 17-year-old from Paris St Germain (PSG) for STG500,000 ($A1.1 million) in March 1997.
After helping Arsenal win the Premier League and FA Cup double in 1998, Anelka left for Real Madrid for a huge fee of STG22.9 million ($A50.28 million) 15 months later.
What Arsenal and Real bought then, and Chelsea are buying now, is a player with natural scoring ability, pace, strength, intelligence and supreme technical skills.
But what Arsenal, Real and several other clubs also got was a moody and unpredictable personality that earned Anelka the nickname “Le Sulk”.
Chelsea are hoping that, 11 years since he first arrived in the capital and after scoring 11 goals already this season, the Frenchman is a more mature player.
Anelka has certainly added subtlety to his game, finding space for himself and playing in other teammates, and there is little doubt defences still find him difficult to handle.
His transfer from Bolton has cost Avram Grant’s team STG15 million ($A32.93 million), taking the total amount paid for his services over the last decade by Arsenal, Real, Manchester City, Fenerbahce, Bolton and Chelsea to STG66.4 million ($A145.79 million).
Apart from PSG, who signed him as a trainee, Liverpool were the only club to get him for nothing when he had a loan period at Anfield in 2001.
Anelka made the short move to Manchester City but fell out of favour after giving an interview to a French magazine.
He then signed for Turkey’s Fenerbahce but stayed only nine months before returning to England with Bolton.
As well as winning major honours with Arsenal, another high point followed when he was in Real Madrid’s Champions League-winning side in 2000.
His international career has had its ups and downs too.
Although he has played 43 times for France, scoring 11 goals, he spent three years in exile after refusing a call-up from coach Jacques Santini in November 2002.
He is now a regular member of the squad again.
Chelsea have signed him to help ease a striking crisis at the club and there is plenty of scope for success at Stamford Bridge with the Londoners still involved in four competitions this season.
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