JOSELU’S journey to Champions League hero is a unique one.
The Spaniard, 34, scored a decisive brace for Real Madrid against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night to clinch a 3-2 aggregate win in their semi-final tie.
He now has 16 goals this season for the biggest club in the world.
Nobody could have foreseen this kind of meteoric rise coming when Joselu was playing for Stoke eight years ago.
His final game came in May 2016 when he led the line for Mark Hughes’ side in a 2-1 win over West Ham.
Yet back then he was a thoroughly unimpressive forward, scoring four goals in 27 games for the Premier League side.
And his last match for the club somewhat typified his time in Staffordshire.
Mame Biram Diouf replaced him and scored the winner as Joselu’s final moments at the club were spent on the bench.
Since then, Joselu has gone on to reach a Champions League final – and could feature against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1.
But what happened to the rest of his team-mates from that final Stoke game back in 2016? SunSport has taken a look.
Shay Given
Shay Given played just six more games after Joselu’s departure, before he retired in 2017.
He became Derby’s goalkeeping coach under Frank Lampard in 2018 and Wayne Rooney appointed him a first-team coach at the club three years later.
He left Derby in 2021 and recently appeared as a pundit on Sky Sports.
Geoff Cameron
American Geoff Cameron spent two more seasons with Stoke, racking up a total of 186 appearances for the club.
He went on to play for QPR and MLS side FC Cincinnati, retiring in 2022 after a 17-year professional career.
Philipp Wollscheid
Phillipp Wollscheid’s stint at Stoke ended in 2017 when he signed for Metz.
The former Germany international retired in 2018 and began playing for his friend’s five-a side futsal team.
Ryan Shawcross
One of the more unique post-Stoke careers, ex-England man Ryan Shawcross, who played 453 games for the club, joined Inter Miami in 2021.
He spent 11 months with the MLS side before a back injury led to his retirement in January 2022.
It means he narrowly missed out on playing with Lionel Messi after the Argentine icon joined the club just 18 months later.
Erik Pieters
Dutch defender Erik Pieters left Stoke in 2019 and signed for Burnley.
In 2022, he joined West Brom where he played 36 times in the Championship last season.
He was released 12 months ago and is still a free agent.
Giannelli Imbula
Midfielder Giannelli Imbula finally left Stoke in 2020 after numerous loan spells with the likes of Toulouse, Rayo Vallecano and Lecce.
He has gone on to play for Russian side Sochi, Portuguese club Portimonense, and Turkish sides Tuzlaspor and Istanbulspor.
Glenn Whelan
Glenn Whelan enjoyed nine years at Stoke, departing in 2017 for Aston Villa.
Spells at Hearts, Fleetwood and Manchester-based non-league club Wythenshawe Amateurs were followed by a two-year stint at Bristol Rovers.
He clinched promotion to League One with Rovers in 2022 and also held a coaching role at the club, before he left last December following Matt Taylor’s appointment as manager.
Jonathan Walters
Jonathan Walters scored 62 goals in 271 games for Stoke, leaving in 2017 for a two-year stint at Burnley and loan spell at Ipswich.
Retiring in 2019, the Irish striker has since gone on to reignite a feud with Manchester United legend Roy Keane – which originated from a bitter row when Keane was assistant coach for the national team in 2018.
Keane has accused Walters of “crying about his family situation” while playing for his country, before the ex-Stoke man hit back by labelling the ex-Red Devils man’s behaviour “ridiculous”.
Bojan Krkic
Bojan Krkic, often known simply as “Bojan”, had a bizarre career that began at Barcelona where he was a part of Pep Guardiola’s legendary side, linking up with Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and a host of others.
After three LaLiga titles and two Champions League trophies, he ended up at Stoke in 2014 and spent five years there.
Bojan finished his career with stints at Canadian side Montreal Impact and Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe – where he reunited with Iniesta.
He retired in March last year and is now a football co-ordinator at Barcelona, helping to bring through young talent in their La Masia academy.
Marko Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic scored just 26 goals in 145 games for Stoke, but enjoyed a more fruitful time at West Ham when he joined them in 2017.
Two seasons with the Hammers brought 22 goals, before he left to sign for Chinese club Shanghai Port.
He returned to Europe with Bologna in 2021, before he embarked on a second stint with Inter Milan in August last year, signing on loan.
And he has gone on to clinch the Serie A title, scoring two league goals in the process.
