Ah, the transfer window. The one thing that keeps football fans active during the off-season, fervently refreshing their Twitter timelines or major news websites to see if that star player was indeed joining their club or not.
Sometimes, it is an exercise in futility. In other instances, it results in frustration as their club’s ‘target’ decides to go elsewhere. But a select few transfers can cause fans to hurl their phones at the nearest hard surface when they realise a rival club has swooped in to sign the player with either a higher transfer fee or better wages.
Here are 10 instances when rival clubs hijacked transfers.
Willian: Joined Chelsea instead of Tottenham (2013)
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In 2013, Anzhi Makhachkala decided to cut back on their massive spending and they had to sell one of their biggest assets at the time in Willian. Tottenham were in the driving seat to land the Brazilian winger and the north London club had seen off competition from Liverpool. They were expected to sign Willian for a fee of £30m.
The then-25-year-old had even arrived in London and completed a medical with Spurs as they got ever closer to securing his signature. That was when Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made some calls to Anzhi owner Suleyman Kerimov and convinced him to sell Willian to the Blues instead for a higher fee of £32m.
The plan worked and Willian was soon on his way to Stamford Bridge. Tottenham were furious as they felt Chelsea signed Willian not because they really needed him in a side filled with attacking midfielders but to weaken Spurs’ chances – an allegation flatly denied by the Blues.
Jose Mourinho had the last laugh, though, saying: “The best thing you can do is do the medical in secret.”
Emmanuel Petit: Joined Arsenal instead of Tottenham (1997)
The legendary French midfielder had spent most of his career at AS Monaco and even captained the side to the Ligue 1 title in his final season with the club (1996/97). As expected, a number of clubs were interested in signing a player who was approaching the peak of his career.
Again, Tottenham were looking to bring the ponytailed Frenchman to England and he even met Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar at the club. Petit confirmed that the club made him an offer.
However, when they booked him a pre-paid taxi, he took it to Arsene Wenger’s house where the French manager, who had coached him during his days at Monaco, convinced him to join Arsenal instead.
“The day I arrived in England I first went to White Hart Lane,” Petit explained. “I had a meeting with Mr Sugar and they made me an offer.
“Two hours later they ordered me a black cab, it was pre-paid, and I went to see Arsene Wenger at his place. When I arrived he was with David Dein, and two hours later I’d given my word to Arsenal.”
Roy Keane: Joined Manchester United instead of Blackburn Rovers (1993)
When Nottingham Forest were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 1992/93 seasons, Roy Keane was allowed to leave thanks to a clause in his contract that he had negotiated with the club. Keane was one of the hottest prospects at the time and Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish wanted him to join the Lancashire club.
But mistakes in the paperwork saw the actual deal pushed by a week as the office was closed over the weekend. Nevertheless, Dalglish and Keane had a verbal agreement to complete the deal the following Monday.
That was when Sir Alex Ferguson got word of the delay in the transfer and personally phoned Keane to convince him to move to Old Trafford. The Scottish manager even had all the correct paperwork ready.
And so, while Blackburn dragged their feet over the transfer, United stepped in and signed Keane for a then-British record £3.75m.
John Obi Mikel: Joined Chelsea instead of Manchester United (2006)
The transfer of Mikel was a monumental disaster for Manchester United in 2005. At the time, the Nigerian midfielder was at Norwegian club Lyn when the Red Devils approached them and struck a deal to sign Mikel.
Mikel had even appeared in a United press conference, complete with a red United kit as a £4m fee was agreed. However, the club had bypassed his agents in doing so.
Chelsea then made the claim that they had struck a deal with Mikel’s agents. Mikel had even ‘disappeared’ for a while when he wasn’t available for selection with the club even suggesting that he had been kidnapped – which even led to police involvement. But it turned out that he had actually flown to London and he wanted to sign for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, stating that he had been forced to sign with United.
The dispute had to be resolved by FIFA and a year later as Chelsea paid £16m (£12m to United to terminate their option on him) to sign the midfielder who went on to win a number of trophies at Stamford Bridge een though he was never considered a major star.
Mohamed Salah: Joined Chelsea instead of Liverpool (2014)
Mohamed Salah had done enough at FC Basel to impress scouts from Liverpool who were keen to make a January transfer for the 22-year-old forward who could play on the wings.
However, the Reds only offered to pay £8m for his services. On the other hand, Chelsea were ready to pay £12m to sign the Egypt international. Ultimately, it came down to a phone call from Jose Mourinho who convinced Salah that he needed him, especially after the departure of Mata to Manchester United.
But it wasn’t just Chelsea’s financial clout that made the deal happen. The player’s agent confirmed that Liverpool’s negotiations were long and protracted (almost three months) while the negotiations with Chelsea were far quicker.
Lucas Moura: Joined PSG instead of Manchester United (2012)
Almost the entire summer of 2012, Manchester United had been chasing Brazilian wonder kid Lucas Moura who had outshone the competition at the Olympics (as did his compatriot Oscar), even though he did go home with a silver medal.
There were a number of meetings between the two clubs as they tried to negotiate a fair transfer fee. But neither United nor Sao Paulo could come to terms that would have seen the 19-year-old move to Old Trafford.
Then came Paris Saint-Germain who blew United out of the water with a €45m bid. The Brazilian club gleefully accepted the bid and Moura was allowed to remain with them until January before he moved to PSG.
Shocked at the transfer fee, Sir Alex Ferguson remarked: “I find it quite amazing that a club can pay €45m for a 19-year-old boy. When somebody's paying €45m for a 19-year-old boy you have to say the game's gone mad!”
Juan Mata: Joined Chelsea instead of Arsenal (2011)
Back in 2011, Arsenal were still not ready to spend big as financing the stadium was still on the budget. But the Gunners were ready to break the club transfer record to sign Juan Mata from Valencia because they felt it was justified to spend so much money on a then 23-year-old midfielder.
Mata had previously won the U-21 World Cup with Spain and was seen as the ideal replacement for Cesc Fabregas. Arsenal were pretty much resigned to losing him to Barcelona and Mata was their contingency plan.
However, Chelsea soon stepped in with a £23.5m transfer fee and cash-strapped Valencia were only too happy to deal with them instead. Fernando Torres had also convinced Mata that Stamford Bridge was the ideal club for him.
Mata was given the no.10 shirt and he spent two-and-a-half seasons at the club, winning the Champions League and the club’s Player of the Year award twice.
Arjen Robben: Joined Chelsea instead of Manchester United (2004)
When a young Arjen Robben was tearing up the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven, he had a number of suitors waiting to take him abroad. Just when he had turned 20 years old, Manchester United expressed an interest in bringing him to England.
Robben actually made a trip to London where he met with Sir Alex Ferguson. However, the Dutch club felt lowballed by United’s offer of €7m. All they would get for that measly amount was a Robben shirt with his autograph, said PSV chairman Harry van Raaij.
This was also a time when Roman Abramovich was rebuilding the squad by splashing money left, right and centre. And he came in with an €18m offer for the Dutch winger. PSV gladly accepted and Robben joined Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles and an FA Cup before making an ill-fated move to Real Madrid.
Aaron Ramsey: Joined Arsenal instead of Manchester United (2008)
Aaron Ramsey first turned heads at Cardiff City in the 2007/08 season where he played a crucial role in the club’s route to the FA Cup final (which they eventually lost to Portsmouth). And Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the first to call up Cardiff manager Dave Jones to check on his availability in the transfer market.
He put things in motion and soon the club had agreed on a fee to sign Ramsey. United even announced the deal on their official website stating that they were “delighted to announce it had agreed to terms with Cardiff City” subject to a medical.
However, Arsenal and Everton were also in talks with the club. Cardiff City assistant manager and Terry Burton (a former Arsenal player and coach) had helped develop Ramsey at the club and he suggested that a move to Arsenal would be better for the Welsh midfielder since the club’s style of play matched his.
Arsenal's bid of £5m was soon accepted by Cardiff and Ramsey went on to join Arsenal where he has since won three FA Cups, scoring the winner in two finals.
Ronaldinho: Joined Barcelona instead of Manchester United (2003)
Ronaldinho had announced himself to the world at the 2002 World Cup when he chipped David Seaman from more than 30 yards away. Following that outrageous goal, he had impressed with PSG that season and suitors lined up for his signature.
Manchester United were in pole position to sign him following their sale of David Beckham to Real Madrid. And Ronaldinho did admit later that he almost made the switch to Old Trafford.
However, this was the time when Sandro Rossell was the vice-president at Barcelona and he was a good friend of Ronaldinho having worked with Nike in Brazil. The Brazilian World Cup winner was considered a marquee signing for the club at the time and Rossell convinced Ronaldinho that his future lay at the Camp Nou.
“I could have played for another club, but I went to Barcelona because of my friendship with Sandro Rosell,” Ronaldinho explained. “I could have played for Manchester United.”
Also read: 20 transfers that were hijacked by rival clubs – Part 2
