10 strangest football transfers of all time

#3 Samuel Eto'o to Anzhi Makachkala (2011)

Samuel Eto'o

Samuel Eto'o was regarded as one of the world's best strikers when he plied his trade with the all-conquering Barcelona.

After winning the continental treble with the Blaugrana, Eto'o made a move to Inter Milan in 2009, where he repeated that feat, making him the only player to win successive continental trebles with two clubs.

Samuel Eto’o, the only person in history to win back-to-back trebles with two different clubs. 🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/1NzZ8K3RdK

— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) September 14, 2018

However, a year later, the Cameroonian player decided to make a shock move to the little-known Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Earning almost €10 million per year, Eto'o became the world's best-paid footballer.

Eto'o scored 36 times in 73 matches for Anzhi Makhachkala, but his Russian adventure did not last long, as a drastic cut in the club's budget forced a mass exodus of top players, including that of the Cameroonian.

To this day, Eto'o move to Makhachkala is considered one of the strangest transfers in the history of the game, as the player seemingly had the world at his feet at both Barcelona and Inter Milan.

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#2 Carlos Tevez to Shanghai Shenhua (2016)

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez caused quite a stir when he landed at Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua in 2016.

Arriving from Boca Juniors, Tevez reportedly earned gargantuan wages of $820,000 per week. But his Chinese adventure (read 'vacation') quickly turned out to be a nightmare.

Scoring just four goals in 20 games, Tevez infamously called his Chinese Super League stint a 'vacation'.

This is what Shanghai Shenhua got for their £650,000 a week on Carlos Tevez 👀 pic.twitter.com/LsSHateEMd

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 10, 2018

He said in this regard:

"When I landed in China, I realised that I wanted to go back to Boca, I was on vacation for seven months".

It was indeed a vacation made in heaven, with Tevez earning $10 million per goal.

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#1 Bebe to Manchester United (2010)

Bebe

Bebe's move to Manchester United in 2010 has to go down as one of the strangest transfers ever in the game's history.

Interestingly, it was the only 'blind' signing made by Sir Alex Ferguson during his legendary managerial career. The Scot apparently signed Bebe on the recommendation of his then-assistant Carlos Queiroz.

As for Bebe, it was a classic rags-to-riches story. After growing up in a homeless shelter in Portugal, Bebe went from €300/week to a £17,000/week player; the English club reportedly dished out a staggering £7 million for the services of a completely unknown entity.

Seven games in four years...On this day in 2010, Manchester United signed Bebe for around £7 million 💰 pic.twitter.com/SnquUDsL7V

— Goal (@goal) August 11, 2020

Unsurprisingly, Bebe's Cinderella story unravelled pretty quickly. Despite scoring twice in seven games, he never started a match for Manchester United.

A decade after his Old Trafford adventure, Bebe is currently plying his trade at Spanish Second Division team Rayo Vallecano.