5 notable transfers that collapsed due to unforeseen circumstances

#3 Alfredo Di Stefano to Barcelona

Arguably the most controversial transfer in history

Alfredo Di Stefano is arguably the greatest footballer to ever wear a Real Madrid jersey but not many know that the Argentine could have played for Los Blancos' arch rivals Barcelona had things panned out differently at the time of his transfer.

According to records, Barca signed Di Stefano in 1953. The Blaugrana reached an agreement with River Plate, who owned the player's rights. Meanwhile, at the same time, Real Madrid also struck a deal with Millionarios, the club the striker was playing for at that moment.

A huge confusion ensued. Backed by the infamous regime of Franco, it was ruled that Stefano would play alternate seasons for each club. Left disappointed, Barca decided to pull out of the deal and the striker became a Los Blancos player.

He scored 308 official goals for the Galacticos and led them to claim 5 consecutive European Cup triumphs.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo to Arsenal

The Portuguese would later kick Arsenal's butts in the EPL

Cristiano Ronaldo has written his name among the greatest footballers in history, with over 600 career goals to his name at club level. How beautiful it would have been if the Portuguese maestro had scored half of those goals wearing the Arsenal jersey!

Similar to how Arsenal missed out on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's signature, the Gunners also suffered a near-miss with Ronaldo. The then 18-year-old trained with the Londoners and went so close to joining them that he was presented with his own No. 9 jersey.

However, a price could not be agreed with the player's club Sporting Lisbon and that eventually proved decisive in the negotiations. Manchester United pounced on the opportunity and submitted a convincing bid to Sporting.

They ended up signing the attacker for £12 million in 2003 and he would later lead them to claim the Champions League, the EPL title, the FA Cup and other honors including winning the Ballon d'Or for himself.

#1 Diego Maradona to Sheffield United

The greatest footballer in history could've been a Sheffield player

In 1978, Sheffield United were close to pulling off a transfer that would have forever changed their history. They were on the verge of housing one of the greatest footballers the world has seen in Diego Maradona but ended up missing out as a result of a costly mistake that will haunt them forever.

The then Sheffield boss Harry Haslam went on a scouting trip to Argentina and saw 17-year-old Maradona in action. He immediately started preparing a £200,000 bid for the player but the club's board were reluctant to pay the fee for the rising star.

Instead, they decided to pay £160,000 to acquire another Argentine talent, Alex Sabella. After just a while, Maradona moved to Europe where he eventually rose to prominence. He enjoyed successful spells with Barcelona and Napoli and had the whole world singing his name.