Most shocking transfers ever: Figo to Real Madrid leads, Van Persie to Utd in
The transfer window sometimes overshadows the actual football these days, but the following deals understandably made everyone sit up and take notice.
Presenting the 15 most shocking transfers in the history of the game.
15. Robinho, Real Madrid to Manchester City
Manchester City announced themselves as a major force in European football when they signed Robinho from Real Madrid on 1 September 2008, the same day the club was bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
The Brazilian thought he was joining Chelsea, only to learn at the last minute that his actual destination was Manchester.
14. Samuel Eto'o, Inter to Anzhi Makhachkala
From Colombia in the 1950s to Saudi Arabia in the 2020s, players have always been tempted by lucrative offers from countries outside the footballing elite.
And so it proved when Anzhi Makhachkala, a club that even many Russians hadn’t heard of, made Eto’o the highest-paid player in the world in 2011.
13. Ashley Cole, Arsenal to Chelsea
Cole wrote in his autobiography that Arsenal’s offer of a new contract worth £55,000 per week left him “trembling with anger”.
The left-back duly swapped Arsenal for Chelsea after a lengthy transfer saga which saw the Blues, their manager Jose Mourinho and Cole himself all fined for a tapping-up meeting.
12. David Beckham, Real Madrid to LA Galaxy
MLS was founded in 1993 but virtually no world-famous stars plied their trade there before 2007. That was the year Beckham announced that he would be leaving Real Madrid for LA Galaxy.
The England international was still only 31 when the deal was agreed, as Beckham rejected approaches from AC Milan and Newcastle.
11. Mario Gotze, Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich
Gotze is far from the only player to have moved between
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