Bristol City star made Ashton Gate waves but was tarnished by controversial £10m Cardiff City deal - View | OneFootball

Bobby Reid completed a controversial move to rivals Cardiff City following the Bluebirds promotion to the Premier League in 2018

Bobby Reid is currently playing an important role for Steve Cooper's Leicester City side in the Premier League as they look to preserve their top-flight status, but it was at Bristol City where he started his career and came through the ranks.

Reid was born and raised in the Easton area of Bristol and picked up by the Robins academy back in 2002, developing in the highly-regarded youth setup before breaking into the first team back in 2011.

Homegrown players coming through the academy and making an impact for the first team is always a great moment for supporters, and it was no different for Reid at Bristol City, but he made a controversial decision that has somewhat tarnished his Ashton Gate legacy.

The forward left the Robins in 2018 in favour of a Premier League move. Of course, normally, supporters would have no qualms about that, but when it's to join one of your biggest rivals, it will never go down well.

Reid joined Cardiff City in a deal worth £10 million in 2018, a controversial switch across the River Severn, which wasn't popular with the Ashton Gate faithful and left a bitter taste for many.

Bobby Reid was excellent for Bristol City, but joining Cardiff City wouldn't have gone down well

While Bristol City's main rivals are Bristol Rovers and Cardiff City's main rivals are Swansea City, there's still a fierce rivalry between the two clubs, with the Severnside Derby being one of the first games that supporters of both clubs look for when the fixtures are released.

Bristol City fans would have been reeling in the summer of 2018 after seeing the Bluebirds win promotion to the Premier League, and a homegrown player like Reid making the switch across the border hurt, there's no doubt about that.

The 2017/18 season was clearly Reid's best in a Bristol City shirt, scoring 21 goals and registering eight assists in 52 appearances across all competitions, and Cardiff boss Neil Warnock wasted no time in bringing him to the Welsh capital after his side's promotion.

After a 2017/18 season like Reid had in the Championship, a Premier League move was deserved, but supporters would have wanted him to join any of the other 19 clubs in the division, not Cardiff.

It put Bristol City in a difficult position because, while selling an academy product for £10 million was good business and nobody could begrudge Reid a Premier League move, ideally they wouldn't have wanted to sell to Cardiff.

After 158 appearances for the Robins, Reid left for Cardiff City in the summer of 2018, but some Bristol City supporters may have been glad to see that his time across the border didn't quite go as planned.

Despite signing a four-year deal in the Welsh capital, Reid spent just one full season with the Bluebirds, starting just 16 of their 38 Premier League games, playing 27 in total.

Given the money they paid for him, perhaps you'd have expected more than 16 starts, and it was a poor season on the pitch for the Bluebirds as they were relegated after just one season in the Premier League, finishing 18th.

He did, however, score five goals and register two assists in the Premier League, and while he was expected to play an important role for them in the Championship the following season, he made a shock exit, joining Fulham on a season-long loan.

Fulham then made it permanent following their promotion to the top flight in 2020 and he remained in West London until the summer of 2024, being released and joining fellow Premier League side Leicester City.

In total, Reid played just 30 games for Cardiff after they had paid £10 million for him, and while his Bristol City departure would have frustrated fans, the fact his move to Cardiff didn't go as planned may have been a saving grace.

Now 31, Reid is still a Premier League player, but Bristol City supporters would have hoped that he'd have reached the top flight with them, not with one of their biggest rivals back in 2018.