Only a few things can shake up a team as much as a transfer in sports. Even the most steady club’s equilibrium can be thrown off by the loss or acquisition of a significant player. New additions can energize a team and its fan base, but for every new player, there is another who departs or whose contract expires.
The sheer volume of players changing clubs in football makes it nearly hard to keep track of all moves, let alone those that are unexpected. Some deals slip under everyone’s eye for months before erupting into the public consciousness with startling alarm. On the other hand, other transfers remain cloaked in obscurity for so long that many people believe they don’t exist until they suddenly become official and catch everyone off guard.
Overall, football is an unpredictable sport, from unexpected match results and strange red card penalties to weird loan deals and unexpected transfers. These uncertainties make football an exciting game to watch, support, and bet on. You can visit this website for a wide range of football betting markets and competitive odds.
Most of the bizarre transfers in the football world are not only strange in terms of money but also in their absurdity. In this article, we will take a look at 5 of the most unexpected transfers in football history:
Lionel Messi 2021 (FC Barcelona to PSG)
Lionel Messi’s move away from FC Barcelona is perhaps the most bizarre transfer in football history. The Argentine attacker has been a Blaugrana all his life. In his 20 years with the club, he won 35 trophies, including four Champions League and ten La Liga titles. He scored a total of 672 goals for the club in all competitions, the most ever scored by a single player for a single club. Lionel Messi won it all with FC Barcelona and was clearly set to retire from the club.
The player had already committed to a contract extension that would keep him at the club for the foreseeable future. However, the deal could not be finalized due to the league’s financial constraints. Several efforts and appeals were made to cut the club’s wage bill and salvage the situation, but they were all unsuccessful. As a result, one of the greatest players of all time ended up on a free transfer to the French club PSG.
Luis Figo 2000 (Barcelona to Real Madrid)
You rarely see any form of player exchange between teams with a high level of rivalry as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. When they do occur, it will undoubtedly raise eyebrows. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are two direct arch-rivals in the Spanish top-flight league. In fact, the El Classico (direct match between the two teams) is one of the most watched in football history.
Therefore, when Luis Figo made the 62 million Euros switch to Real Madrid from Barcelona, it created quite a commotion, particularly among Barcelona fans. When Barcelona played Real Madrid later in the season, fans tossed a pig’s head at him to demonstrate their disdain for the player.
Carlos Tevez 2009 (Manchester United to Manchester City)
Carlos Tevez’s switch from Manchester United to Manchester City is another case of a player switching between rivals. Although, when this move happened, fans of the red devils did not take it in bad faith, as Tevez wasn’t an integral part of their team at that moment. In fact, he spent just two years at the club and mostly came off the bench in matches. The Argentine forward made a big statement by joining the Reds’ local rivals, much to the delight of city fans. Tevez went on to win three titles with Manchester City, one of which he defeated his former team on the way to the final.
Johan Cruyff 1973 (Ajax to Barcelona)
Johan Cruyff’s move to Barcelona in 1973 may sound normal today, but it was one of the oddest transfers at the time. The Dutchman had recently come off a great successful run with Ajax, winning three consecutive Champions League titles. As a result, leaving such a successful team for FC Barcelona at the time seemed unusual, especially given that FC Barcelona was not as successful back then. Barcelona was a big club, no doubt, but they hadn’t won the Spanish La Liga title in decades and had had no success in the Champions League.
Cruyff’s arrival at the club proved to be a blessing in disguise. The Dutchman guided the club to its first La Liga title in years while also winning European Player of the Year. Cruyff would eventually become a coach for the Catalan club, taking them to their first European champions league trophy and four La Liga titles. His tenure as a coach birthed Barcelona’s possession-based tiki-taka style, ushering in a golden era in the club’s history.
Neymar Jr (Barcelona to PSG) 2017
Neymar’s 222 million Euros transfer to PSG in 2017 sits up there among the most bizarre transfers of all time. Until that point, no other player had been purchased for such an exorbitant transfer fee. Nobody in the football world expected any club to be able to meet Neymar’s 222 million release clause, so when PSG did, it was shocking. The fact that the player appeared to be having a lot of success with Barcelona at the time, especially with his striking partners, Messi and Suarez, who formed one of the world’s deadliest attacking tridents, made the transfer more difficult to imagine.
Conclusion.
There have been a lot of unusual transfers in football history. Other notable transfers include David Beckham’s move from Madrid to LA Galaxy, Oscar’s move from Chelsea to Shanghai Port in 2017, and Torres’ move from Chelsea to Liverpool, among others. Parimatch is a reputable betting platform where you can place bets on football or any other game.
