For those who are not aware of the phrase "Hijacking in Football", it simply means when a club is on the verge of signing a player before, another club swoops in at the last minute and hijacks the deal. Sure, the term “hijacking” in relation to football is new, but not the practice itself. Since the game started, clubs have done everything possible to get the player they want, and that at times leads to things getting a bit controversial.
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Also read: 20 transfers that were hijacked by rival clubs: Part 1
In recent times, it has become a rather common phenomenon to see clubs hijack deals in the last minute. Continuing from the previous list, here is part 2 of the list featuring 10 more players who had to make a late change in their destination.
Michael Laudrup
The former Danish footballer, who played for Juventus, Ajax, Real Madrid and Barcelona, was on the verge of signing for Liverpool. Everything suggested that the player would be signing for Liverpool as he was about to sign a three-year deal at Anfield when Liverpool decided to insert another 12-month deal.
Michael refused and Juventus then swooped in and hijacked the deal at the last minute. He then went on to win the Serie A, La Liga, European Cup and much more.
Ian Storey-Moore
After spending a decade at Nottingham Forest, Storey-Moore decided to join rivals Derby County in 1972. After the fee was agreed, Morre said, ”I’ve joined a great club”. When questioned about Manchester United, the former England footballer rubbished the reports and stated, ”I don’t know anything about it. All I know is I’ve joined a great club.”
A week later, it was revealed that Ian had actually joined Manchester United. However, the decision didn’t turn out well for the player. Derby went on to win the league that year.
Park Chu-Young
Park represented Monaco for three seasons, and put in good displays in the 2010-11 season. However, the club were relegated. The Korean expressed his desire to play in a more competitive league and Monaco said they wouldn't stand in his way.
The player was set for a move to Lille after agreeing on the fees and wages. He was in the hotel in Lille and when the club officials went to agree on the terms, the player was missing.
It was later discovered that Park was on his way to Arsenal who had promised better terms than Lille. On 30th August 2011, Wenger signed Park. The player spent three years at Arsenal but only made seven appearances.
Lucas Moura
After missing out on Eden Hazard to Chelsea, Alex Ferguson turned his attention to Lucas. The Reds were in pole position to sign the Brazilian but had a disagreement over the fee.
That allowed PSG to swoop in and secure their man. Sir Alex was fuming after having missed out on two wingers in the same transfer window. This is what Lucas had to say, “I was very close to joining Manchester United. It nearly happened, but, at the last minute, Leonardo called me and spoke to me my parents.”
For Sir Alex, paying how much PSG dished out for the Brazilian was ‘mad’.
Pedro
While it comes to Chelsea, there can be an article on the hijacked transfers regarding Chelsea alone! Robben, Salah, Willian, Mikel are just a few to name.
Pedro was set to leave Camp Nou in the summer of 2015 and Manchester United were favourites to land the Spaniard. However, United were not willing to pay the £21m demanded by Barcelona.
Jose Mourinho, the then Chelsea Manager, saw the opportunity and the club concluded the deal in just two hours, whereas Manchester United were in negotiations for more than a month.
Robinho
On the final day of the Premier League summer transfer window a few years back, Manchester City hijacked this deal from Chelsea to make him their marquee signing worth around £32.5m.
Robinho had earlier expressed his desire to play for a London club and Madrid had also given their consent for the player to leave. Chelsea were confident that the player would sign for them and everything was in place. However, the new owners of Manchester City, Abu Dhabi United Group, wanted to make their presence felt and turned towards Robinho and signed him on a four-year deal.
The player was so inclined to joining Chelsea that after joining he said, “Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted.” When prompted “You mean Manchester City, right?” he said, “Yeah, Manchester, sorry.”
Dele Alli
The PFA Young Player of the Year in the 2015-16 season, Dele Alli was once close to joining Liverpool. Alli was playing for MK Dons when Liverpool came calling for the player. The then manager, Karl Robinson, was a big Liverpool fan, so when he heard about Liverpool's interest in the player, he decided to do all he could to make the move happen.
There have been multiple reports as to why the transfer didn’t go through. While some claim Spurs offered a higher transfer fee, others state the deal simply couldn’t be completed in time which allowed the North Londoners to take advantage and swoop in.
David Beckham
Beckham's relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson was strained and the player expressed his desire to leave the club in the summer of 2003. Hearing this, Barcelona made an offer for the player and both the clubs told the press that they had reached an agreement for the player.
However, Real Madrid made a late attempt to make the former England forward their latest Galactico. It was a hard pill to swallow for Barcelona, especially for Joan Laporta as he had campaigned hard and promised that if he won he would sign Beckham.
Romelu Lukaku
The latest deal to be hijacked involves Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea might have hijacked more - Pedro, Drogba, Hazard to name a few - but this time, Manchester United stole from the striker from under Chelsea’s nose.
Chelsea were in negotiations with the player for a long time and thought no other club were interested, hence they took their own sweet time. Meanwhile, Manchester United grew impatient with Real Madrid regarding Morata and turned their attention to the Belgian. In the end, United secured him for a fee of £75m and further add ons.
Alfredo Di Stefano
Regarded as the greatest hijack in the history of football, this deal includes Real Madrid and Barcelona. Probably one of the most complete players in the sport, Di Stefano was playing in the Columbian League before arriving in Spain.
Di Stefano had asked River Plate to cancel his contract but they refused. This lead to him retiring from the game before Barcelona handed him a lifeline. The Catalans offered him a new deal in 1953 and worked hard to strike a deal with the player.
In midst of all, Real Madrid swooped in and signed the player. This deal is regarded as the most controversial transfer in the footballing history.
