Ray Parlour won pretty much all that there is to win in the English game in an illustrious 12-year career with Arsenal. The midfielder had three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, the League Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup medal in his trophy cabinet before he traded Highbury for the Riverside in 2004.
However, if anyone thought the 10-times capped England international would be pining for the bright lights of London during his time on Teesside, then they couldn't have been wider of the mark.
Parlour embraced his time at Boro, playing 60 times over two seasons, helping Steve McClaren's side reach the UEFA Cup final in 2006, before leaving for Hull City in 2007.
The Romford-born star took to Middlesbrough and the people of the North East - with his daughter even developing a Teesside accent. And he insists it was the fans who made the big difference.
He told Four Four Two: "Steve McClaren was good. Middlesbrough did so well. They put the money down for Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and some other really top players.
"And to get to a UEFA Cup final was unbelievable. It came to the end, he departed, Gareth Southgate got the job and I wasn't going to play, so I moved on. But I really enjoyed living in Middlesbrough. My daughter went to nursery there and had a Middlesbrough accent. We had to try to change that!
"My mum was going, 'What's she saying!?' She came out of it in the end! I enjoyed my time there though. The fans were very genuine. I find northern people a lot better than southern people because you know where you stand.
"In a bar one day I said, 'Lads, I'll get the drink', and they said, 'No, put your £20 in like everyone else'. Everyone was the same level. Playing football doesn't mean I'm bigger than you. I liked that."
Parlour scored 32 goals in 466 appearances for Arsenal, after making his debut in 1992.