£500k Cardiff City transfer made £4.5m profit in controversial Sunderland deal: View

Cardiff City made a large profit when they sold Michael Chopra to Sunderland in 2007.

The former Newcastle United forward joined the Bluebirds in the summer of 2006, following a rough period with his hometown club.

He joined the Magpies at the age of ten. Chopra went on to play in the Premier League and the Champions League with Newcastle,

but a lack of playing time led him to seek a break from St James’ Park.

This resulted in a £500,000 transfer to Cardiff, with the Englishman unhappy with the way he was handled by the club.

He spoke with The Guardian and criticised the amount of chances Shola Ameobi was given ahead of him,

which eventually led to his departure from the club.

Signing a teenage striker with Champions League experience was a great coup for the Bluebirds,

and it worked out better than the South Wales club could have imagined.

Chopra’s talent was evident from the moment he began playing for Cardiff.

He scored six goals in his first ten Championship games and assisted his teammates seven times.

His goals capped a remarkable run of form for the Bluebirds. They led the league for ten weeks,

losing only twice from August to November 2006. Chopra’s form was a revelation,

as he formed an instant connection with Strike Thompson up front.

Despite his struggles in front of goal in the latter stages of the season, as the Bluebirds finished 13th in the division,

Chopra concluded the season as the division’s second highest scorer. Chopra scored 22 goals for Cardiff and provided 12 assists,

making him one of the team’s most valuable players.

Michael Chopra’s stats for Cardiff City 2006/07 – Transfermarkt
Appearances	Starts	Minutes	Goals	Assists
42		3686	22	12

Chopra was unlike any other Cardiff player at the time. He possessed amazing speed and nimble feet in the box.

His greatest strength was his finishing, as he could create opportunities from nothing and effortlessly find the net.

Sadly for Cardiff fans, he left the following season in a contentious move to one of their main rivals.

His controversial move to Sunderland brought Cardiff a massive profit.

Chopra left Ninian Park in the summer of 2007 to join Sunderland, much to the displeasure of Bluebirds fans.

After scoring 22 goals and helping the Bluebirds spend a large amount of time at the top of the Championship,

he earned interest from eventual winners and new Premier League club Sunderland.

Roy Keane took over a relegation-threatened club and turned it around,

helping the Black Cats achieve promotion to the Premier League.

The increased revenue from TV rights meant they had more money to spend, and Chopra was one of the players targeted.

Despite being a former Newcastle player,

he moved to the Stadium of Light after the Black Cats agreed on a £5 million transfer fee for the striker.

While losing a talented scorer like Chopra was a significant blow,

Cardiff’s £4.5 million profit after just one season was substantial.

They used the money to bring in a handful of veteran talent, including Robbie Fowler and Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink,

who helped lead them to the FA Cup Final the following year.

While his move to Sunderland proved a huge outlay for the club, his career at the Stadium of Light didn’t go to plan.

He was only with the club for 18 months and made 22 Premier League appearances.

He only scored eight goals for his new club, and his lack of playing time prompted him to return to Cardiff on loan in January 2009,

before signing permanently in the summer of 2009.

Chopra did, however, score the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur on his debut for the club,

which he believes improved supporters’ perceptions of him.

Despite the turmoil surrounding the transfer, he had several positive moments at Sunderland during his brief tenure.

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