Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea number '9': what are the famous curses in football?

The domestic football season has come to a dramatic end with Manchester City securing a fourth consecutive Premier League title. Arsenal once again finished second to Pep Guardiola’s side with the Gunners win over Everton not enough to stop the Cityzens triumph over West Ham.

Elsewhere in the European leagues, Xabi Alonso led Bayer Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga triumph, ending a 45-year wait for the domestic top prize. Bayer had previously called ‘Neverkusen’ for their inability to finish tournaments strongly.

While the club took second place in the league in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002 as well as in 2011 but it took until 2024 - having been in the Bundesliga since 1979 - to finally lift the trophy.

Here are some of the famous curses in football...

The Aaron Ramsey curse

Following the death of the Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell, the world of football was once again reminded of the Aaron Ramsey’s supposed ‘curse’. The curse - of mysterious theory - seemingly always circulates on social media channels and it is thought that whenever the Welshman finds the back of the net, a well-known celebrity or personality is doomed to pass away soon after.

In recent years, Ramsey has supposedly seen off Olivia Newton-John, who died just a day after Ramsey scored on debut for Nice; June Brown, the EastEnders star who passed away shortly after Ramsey scored the opening goal against Celtic in April 2022 and Steve Harwell on September 4 2023, who died two days after Ramsey scored for Cardiff City against Ipswich Town.

Head to our article on the Aaron Ramsey curse to see the full list of celebrities who have seemingly passed away as a result of the Welshman’s goal-scoring abilities..

Chelsea Number 9 shirt

Chelsea have taken the unusual step of ensuring no player will now don the number 9 shirt after fears emerged that the wearing of the ill-fated top significantly reduces any goal-scoring ability.

The top has seemingly struck down the powers of Andrei Shevchenko, Fernando Torres, Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku amongst others. Shevchenko, for example, went from scoring 28 goals for AC Milan in his last season with them to scoring just 14 and 8 goals respectively over the next two seasons.

Last year the former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed: “Nobody wants to touch it”. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then taunted the odds by wearing the shirt soon after but the ex-Arsenal star went on to score just one goal in 15 fixtures.

The Shamans of Africa

Another curse that has since been lifted but in 2018, Manchester City were in a bizarre circumstance where Yaya Toure’s agent claimed African shamans put a Champions League curse on the Citizens boss Pep Guardiola.

According to the Sun, the story began after the Ivory Coast star claimed Guardiola was having ‘problems’ with African stars. His agent Dimitri Seluk then added to the row insisting that witchery would prevent the the Etihad club from winning Europe’s top trophy during the Spaniard’s career in Manchester.

Agent Seluk said: “God sees everything. The way he acted with Yaya, a legend of the club, he turned Africa against himself - and many African fans turned away from City. I’m sure many Africa shamans in the future will not allow Guardiola to win the Champions League. This will be for Guardiola, an African curse. Life will show whether I am right or not.”

In 2023, the Ivorian’s former manager then spoke out saying the curse had been lifted. Manchester City went on to win the treble, beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final.

Benfica’s European curse

The Portuguese giants supposedly suffer from a curse which prevents them from winning any European trophy. According to legend, their former manager Bela Guttman put a spell on the club which said Benfica would not win another European trophy in a hundred years.

This was after he lefts his rivals, FC Porto, to join Benfica in 1959. He won back-to-back domestic titles and the European Cup in 1961 and 1962. However, the manager was then denied a raise by the board which led Guttman to curse the club. Following his departure, the club lost the final in 1963, 1965 and 1968. Benfica then also lost the UEFA Europa League finals in 1983, 2013 and 2014.

Racing Club’s cats

Racing Club, one of Argentina’s most decorated clubs, went through a particularly dry spell of trophies in the 1970s, facing relegation in 1983. Fans attribute this to a bizarre curse which relates to the missing dead cat.

Following the club’s Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup win in the 1960s, the club had their ground broken into by fans of Racing’s rivals Independiente. They buried seven dead black cats on the premises and so followed Racing’s period of misfortune.

Over the years, six cats were found but not the seventh. In 2001, after a priest had performed an exorcism, the seventh cat was eventually found and the club went on to win the Apertura - the club’s first title since 1966.