Extreme measures taken by footballers in the past to force a transfer

To hand in a transfer request doesn’t put a player anywhere close to leaving – we’ve moved on from those old fashioned days.

As a result, formal transfer requests are relatively rare among high profile players in this day and age. More importantly, a transfer request has no legal bearing. Since the club holds all the cards in the matter, the transfer request becomes a waste of time. All it does is merely provide fodder for sports journalists. Handing in a transfer request does not always mean the player is any closer to the exit door. It is just a polite little request which your owner will turn down as he's perfectly entitled to.

We've seen the likes of Robbie Savage and Raheem Sterling try every other trick in the book in an attempt to secure a transfer away from their clubs. We've seen harsher measures being taken in the past as well. Here we go through 5 such techniques or tricks aka Machiavellian manoeuvres that footballers implemented to force a move:

#5 Feign an injury

What about this technique?

This is perhaps the kindest way to force a transfer. It's indeed very generous. With this move, you'll be killing not two, but three birds with one stone. First, you'll be withdrawing yourself from all of the manager’s plans. Two, you'll be discomfiting your owners and the boardroom. Three, you'll ensure that you don’t actually get injured while training or on match-day and safely pass your medical with the club you want to force a move to.

Who adopted this method?

We had Frenchman Loïc Rémy try this with Alan Pardew in his endeavour to secure a move to Chelsea and boy did he do it well. In 2014, he claimed he was struggling with a strain in his groin to avoid the final few games of the season. Later, the player on loan from Queens Park Rangers told L’Equipe - “We had nothing to play for and I didn’t want to risk getting hurt again. The coach Alan Pardew understood my point of view. Newcastle want to sign me but I don’t know if I’ll stay. The World Cup is a window. I’m at a turning point, it will be massive improvement or stagnation.”

#4 Call the media (preferably a foreign newspaper outlet)

What about this route?

This route is simply beautiful and beautifully simple. You have to call a foreign outlet - be crystal clear that you want to leave your club in the language that the foreign outlet understands (I'd advise some Duo Lingo to help you in stirring this one up), and then you can claim to have been misquoted and slam the media for such 'baseless' rumours.

Who did it?

Luis Suarez tried this and so did Demba Ba who executed it with near perfection. Newcastle agreed to not fine striker Demba Ba after he told them comments suggesting that he was interested in a move to Arsenal had been 'mistranslated'. However, his interview with French broadcasting company Canal+ seemed to clearly indicate that he was itching for a move to the Gunners.

#3 Start sulking and don't put in your 100%

West Ham fans will know all about this. From singing "He's Super Slav's man, He's better than Zidane, We've got Dimitri Payet" to "You’ve got some f****** front, you money-grabbing c***, f*** off Dimitri Payet" the Hammers have come a long way.

What about this trick?

Sulking is terrible, it's one for the kids. It could have an awful impact on your team-mates, on your boss and on your club as a whole, all of which could work in your favour. If you do have the effrontery to sulk, it's great. We recommend this way to those who secretly hate their teammates as well. With this sickening new-found demeanour of yours, you'd bring people down with you as well.

Who did this?

In the past two years, this has been a rather popular way of forcing exits. Full credit to Dimitri Payet for perfecting this one. The French international had a few tips to share on this as well. He told So Foot (via the Telegraph) “I know how to be a d******d. It’s one of my specialities. It’s a little game. When I want to p**s everyone off, I do it. My managers understood that: when I sulk, they talk to me. It’s a way for me to be heard. Those who know me play along, and, in the end, it goes well."

#2 Refuse to train or play

Who should try this?

This works well if you're one of those top-notch footballers. It's simply because your club would be willing to pay you to play for huge sums of money. This fashion started in the late 1990s thanks to the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Pierre van Hooijdonk who told Arsenal and Nottingham Forest they would not, in fact, be playing for them anymore.

Who did this?

Okay, okay, we know you're probably thinking of Nikola Kalinić right now and how he missed out on the tag of being a World Cup finalist after having followed the second best tip. He's a poor example of this famed technique which has brought a lot of success. You can't secure a move away from your country; what ]was he thinking?

For a better paragon of this technique, there's Luka Modric, his own captain whom the Croatian striker tried to emulate (of course, in an out-of-context way). Gareth Bale took a leaf out of Lukita's book and was with him at Madrid in no time. Ousmane Dembele tried this and it worked wonders. More importantly, have you heard anyone giving them s**t for it any longer? Nope, this technique works wonders.

This was taken to a whole new level with William Gallas of Chelsea. He had grown so frustrated under Mourinho that he threatened to score an own goal if he was picked! The Abramovich-led club were quick to move him onto Arsenal as part of the Cole deal soon enough.

#1 Indulge in some misconduct with your teammates

neymar - cropped — Neymar was involved in a training ground bust-up with Semedo

What about this technique?

Before we get started, I'd like to make it clear. This isn't for the shy ones (cough Kante cough). But there is no better way of having your contract terminated with your current club. Agreed, you'll have to stoop to a new level in your unprofessional attempt at selling yourselves to your potential employers.

However, there have been a handful of players (some great ones, mind you) that have had their contracts terminated as a result of some serious misbehavior over the years – Mads Timm and Callum Flanagan of Manchester United for dangerous driving, Adrian Mutu for having snorted cocaine, Paolo Di Canio for shoving the referee - but none of these did it quite deliberately, and perhaps these are too extreme. It requires some effort, needless to say you'll trigger hate, but with the right kind of dedication, you'll be able to secure an exit.

Despite the wrath you'll face on social media and fans of the club you're with, this route has its own perks. If the club terminates your contract, you're a free agent. What that means is a higher wage and a bumper signing bonus from the club you transfer to simply because they don't have to pay a transfer fee!

Who did this?

Several players have already set an example with this route. They've even tried subtler ways, just the kinds one should try in the modern era. Their dedication was phenomenal. We had Robbie Savage do it. In his own article, the controversial footballer said "One day, I had a big argument with the goalkeeper. He came over to me, had a right go and grabbed me by the throat. I got up, we scuffled and he ended up with a cut lip after my head came into contact with his face." More recently, we had Neymar engaging in a scuffle with a team-mate at the Nou Camp training ground before his move to PSG. Some of us even agree with Former Leeds United manager Neil Warnock's accusation that Suarez bit Chiellini in order to force a move away.

Edited by Arvind Sriram