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Football can be thrilling, heart-stopping, a matter of life and death (and even more if you go by the words of Bill Shankly) and bizarre. The beautiful game can be the most serious thing on the planet for many, but it can also get strange, and sometimes even humorous.
Often, football tends to enter the realm of the bizarre when it comes to transfers, especially when two (or more) clubs desperately want the same player, and that player ends up making weird choices. From John Obi Mikel to Emmanuel Petit, we have some of the strangest football transfer stories.
5 strange football transfer stories
#5 Emmanuel Petit gets paid by Tottenham Hotspur to play for Arsenal (not literally, but yes)
We start with a funny one. World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit, who netted the third goal to rub salt into Brazilian wounds in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final in Paris, signed for Arsenal in 1997. But the bizarre bit is that Petit actually met Tottenham Hotspur (Arsenal's bitter rivals) chairman Alan Sugar who made him an offer.
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In secret, Arsene Wenger had said Petit should meet the former before making a final decision. So Petit said he would think about the Spurs' offer, and Tottenham reportedly paid for a taxi to take the player to his hotel. But naughty Petit diverted the cab to a meeting with Wenger where the Gunners vice-chairman David Dein was also present.
Petit promptly signed up with Arsenal following the second meeting, meaning Spurs actually ended up paying the taxi fare that took Petit to the meeting that helped the future world champion sign up for their fiercest rivals!
#4 Carlos Tevez (sinks his own club and a rival together by scoring a goal)
In what is still the most controversial transfer saga in English football, the unthinkable happened when two of the hottest Argentine prospects, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, moved to England in 2007 to sign for West Ham United. Everyone, including the Hammers coach Alan Pardew, were taken aback.
But the bizarre saga had just begun. While Mascherano contributed little in his seven games before moving to Liverpool, Tevez also struggled to get goals even though his strike helped the embattled side (who had finished ninth in the previous season) to stay up. That's when all hell broke loose.
Tevez had found his feet and form late in the season, but his and West Ham's redemption meant Sheffield United were relegated.
Sheffield lodged a protest. West Ham were subsequently found guilty of breaching third-party ownership rules and were fined £5.5 million by the league.
It was a move that would have wide-ranging implications in the game, especially for West Ham who had reached an FA Cup final the previous season but plunged into a financial crisis after what had appeared a dream signing.
Sheffield, however, could not save their Premier League status and still remain bitter about the whole saga.
#3 David de Gea (A faulty fax machine reportedly kept him in Manchester)
As bizarre as bizarre gets. David de Gea is still Manchester United's number one despite all the trials and tribulations he has undergone in recent months.
However, in 2015, he was touted to be the best goalkeeper on the planet, and Real Madrid really wanted him. Like really.
The deal was done, Keylor Navas was supposed to move to the other side, and De Gea was to make a dream move to Los Blancos. But apparently a dodgy fax machine in Real's headquarters meant the paperwork could not go through on time.
One version says that the broken fax machine belonged to Manchester United and not Real Madrid. There has been no official confirmation from either club in this regard. But the grapevine will forever talk about the dream move that was scuppered by a lowly fax machine.
#2 John Obi Mikel (Manchester United player, no Chelsea, sorry)
This is another all-time bizarre transfer story that has acquired legendary status.
John Obi Mikel became a Chelsea great during his 11 years with the club, winning multiple trophies for them. However, it could all have been completely different.
Mikel had apparently signed professional forms with Manchester United in 2005 before joining Chelsea. He was then playing for Norwegian club Lynn Oslo. Later, the then teenager, who had also been pictured in a United shirt, said that he was forced to sign for the Manchester club and actually wanted to play for Chelsea.
Mikel's agent John Shittu was reported by Manchester United to FIFA and was also called before a Nigerian commission. The case dragged on with even the courts and solicitors getting involved before Mikel eventually joined Chelsea in August 2006.
It is said that even United received a part of Mikel's transfer fees despite the player never even playing for them. No one knows what went through Mikel's mind during those months. Was he himself sure whom he wanted to play for?
#1 Alfredo Di Stefano (General Franco steps in to block move to Barcelona?)
One of the greatest footballers ever to have played the game, the prolific Alfredo Di Stefano, helped Real Madrid win the first five European Cups to become a Bernabeu legend. But he was all set to become a Barcelona player, believe it or not!
A story full of conspiracy theories, multiple clubs in three countries and even the rumoured involvement of a dictator: this is the strangest transfer story of all time.
Di Stefano was playing for Colombian club Millonarios when he travelled to Spain to play a friendly tournament. He caught the attention of both Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
It was the latter that led the race but made the fatal mistake of rebuffing the Colombian club because they believed that Di Stefano's registration lay with Argentine club River Plate, Millonarios' former owners.
Barcelona even flew Di Stefano to Spain, with the player reportedly playing a friendly for the club. That was when Real Madrid stepped in, with their president Santiago Bernabeu securing a surreptitious agreement with Millonarios.
Even a contract was prepared before RFEF (Spanish football federation) stepped in to stop the move despite FIFA allowing the same. Madrid's startling 'decision' was to let the player play for alternate clubs, beginning with the capital club for four years.
At that point, an incensed Barcelona board tore up the contract, and their president resigned.
Tilll now, Di Stefano's move to Spain is riddled in mystery and controversy, with theories stating that Spain dictator General Franco played a role in stopping the Barcelona deal and bringing Di Stefano to Real Madrid which was then 'considered' Franco's club.
There were also rumours of double agents being involved that worked to scupper Barcelona's hopes. Whatever may be the case, it only added to the bitterness of the El Clasico that continues to be the most contested football matches of all time.
