Rodri, Neymar & Co.: The Ten Most Audacious Transfer Twists

FC Barcelona interfering with Real Madrid's desired transfer – that had happened before.

According to Real president Florentino Perez, Neymar had already completed his medical with the "Royals" in the summer of 2013. Nevertheless, he ultimately moved to Barcelona in the same summer, where in the following years, together with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, he formed the most dangerous attacking trio in the world.

Opinions differ as to why the transfer to Madrid ultimately failed. According to Perez, Real backed out of a transfer due to opaque transfer fee arrangements.

Neymar, however, later claimed that he had received a blank check from Real, where he could have filled in his desired salary, but the move to Barca was a decision of the heart.

This was already the second time the Spanish record champions missed out. Already in 2006, the Brazilian had a trial in Madrid, but despite his already unmistakable talent at the age of 14, he didn't feel ready for a move to Europe.

Already in the 1950s, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona battled over a player. Back then, however, the "Royals" emerged victorious from the transfer dispute.

Alfredo Di Stefano played for the Colombian club CD Los Millionarios until 1953. Then Barca wanted to secure the services of the Argentine-born player. The Catalans paid a then-record transfer fee, but they transferred the money not to Colombia, but to Argentina. From the perspective of Barcelona's management, Di Stefano's youth club River Plate held the striker's transfer rights.

This circumstance brought Real into play, who also transferred a fee for the "Blond Arrow". However, "Los Blancos'" money went into the Millionarios' account. Ultimately, the Spanish federation had to intervene, which came to an unusual decision.

Di Stefano was to play two years in Madrid and two years in Barcelona. The Catalans were not satisfied with this decision. Although Di Stefano had already played friendly matches in the "Blaugrana" jersey, they refrained from signing him.

There are countless myths as to why the situation ultimately arose. For instance, Barcelona was said to be dissatisfied with Di Stefano's test match performance, but influence from the then Spanish dictator Francisco Franco is also speculated.

As a Real player, Di Stefano ultimately won, among other things, eight Spanish championships and five European Cups, making him one of the greatest club legends of all time to this day.

Towards the end of his career, he did eventually move to Barcelona, but to Barca's second arch-rival, Espanyol Barcelona.

Not only in Spain do clubs interfere with their rivals at the last moment. In England, FC Chelsea signed John Obi Mikel, even though he had already been presented at a Manchester United press conference.

After the Nigerian had drawn attention to himself at the U17 World Cup in 2003, both the "Blues" and the "Red Devils" invited him for a trial. Obi Mikel impressed at both clubs, but as he was not yet 18 at the time, he was not allowed to move to the Premier League.

After Obi Mikel turned 18, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson flew to Norway, as the Nigerian was then under contract with Lyn Oslo. An agreement was reached, and United scheduled a press conference in Oslo, where Obi Mikel was introduced as a Manchester United player.

"Chelsea saw the images on TV and the officials freaked out," the midfielder later said. Consequently, he was secretly flown to London by FC Chelsea officials and hidden in a house. Rumors emerged that Mikel had been kidnapped.

But after a few days, he reappeared in public and stated that he had been pressured into signing with United and that he wanted to play for Chelsea in the future.

United then lodged a complaint with FIFA. But Chelsea did not want to await a ruling, yet it took almost a year to reach an agreement. 4.5 million euros were transferred to Norway as a transfer fee, and 13.5 million euros were paid to United as compensation.

Ultimately, the money proved to be worthwhile. The Nigerian played eleven years at Stamford Bridge, winning, among other things, the Champions League and two English championships.

Even Cristiano Ronaldo, at an advanced age, once again had to choose between two rivals. In 2021, the Portuguese wanted to leave Juventus Turin.

Several clubs are said to have expressed interest, but of all clubs, Manchester City reportedly made the most intensive efforts to sign the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"It was close. That was a much-discussed topic, and Guardiola said that they tried very hard to sign me," Ronaldo later said in an interview.

But CR7 received a call from Sir Alex Ferguson, his former coach at Manchester United. He reportedly told Ronaldo: "It's impossible for you to go to Manchester City."

Ronaldo accepted the words of the coaching legend, and so it ultimately led to his return to Old Trafford. However, his second era in Manchester was not particularly marked by success.

After still delivering a strong 18 Premier League goals in his first season, he played only a minor role in the second year. So, in the winter, he finally moved to Saudi Arabia.

Another time FC Barcelona managed to convince a player at the last second was with Malcom in 2018.

The Brazilian was actually on the verge of a transfer from Girondins Bordeaux to AS Roma, both parties agreeing on a deal worth 32 million euros.

The contract was negotiated, the clubs announced the transfer on social media, and Malcom was reportedly already at the airport, ready to travel to the Italian capital. But then the Catalans got in touch.

They offered 41 million euros for the winger, Bordeaux agreed to the transfer, the flight to Rome was cancelled, and Malcom was officially presented as an FC Barcelona player.

In retrospect, his agent spoke of "revenge," because another client of his was also supposed to move to the "Giallorossi" earlier that same summer, but Roma's officials ultimately brokered the deal with a different agent.

Despite the spectacular move, Malcom never really made an impact in the "Blaugrana" jersey. In his only season, he only scored four goals, and after just one year, he moved to Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia for the same sum.

Paul Gascoigne was one of the most flamboyant footballers in England towards the end of the 1980s and early 1990s.

After "Gazza" steadily improved at his youth club Newcastle United and developed into one of England's most promising players, a big move was imminent in 1988.

The player, who grew up in difficult circumstances in the North East of England, was on the verge of a transfer to Manchester United. He had already spoken with Sir Alex Ferguson at the time and promised him to sign with United.

Feeling secure that the deal would go through, Ferguson went on holiday. But then the shock came for Ferguson.

"I was on holiday and received a call informing me that he had signed for Tottenham. The reason was that they (Tottenham's officials) had bought his mother a house for 80,000 pounds," the Scot said years later.

Overall, Gascoigne was to play for the Spurs for four years and be quite successful. Nevertheless, he regretted the move in hindsight.

"If I had moved to Manchester, I might still be there," he said in an interview in 2009.

And Ferguson also lamented the missed opportunity. Which player would he have liked to see in a United jersey? "To be honest, only Gascoigne comes to mind. He was simply fantastic. I believe if we had signed him, his career would have been great."

After his time with the Spurs, "Gazza" became a globetrotter, but especially after his career, he repeatedly shocked with alcohol problems and his mental and physical condition.

Marko Arnautovic also experienced a transfer twist once.

After his return to Italy in 2021, Austria's record international player played two strong seasons for FC Bologna, consequently, bigger teams in Serie A also took notice of him again.

AS Roma, with star coach Jose Mourinho, reportedly initially vied for the striker's services. The Romans reportedly submitted an offer of six million euros, but Bologna owner Joey Saputo rejected it. As an absolutely indispensable key player, Arnautovic was said to be not for sale, no matter the price.

Arnautovic wasn't entirely unsellable after all. Just over a week after the collapsed deal with Roma, the Austrian was presented as an Inter Milan player, and price did play a role in the end.

The "Nerazzurri" initially brought Arnautovic back on loan, before a purchase obligation of over 10 million euros took effect a year later.

In terms of sporting success, the two additional years definitely proved worthwhile. Arnautovic won the league once with Inter and reached the Champions League final once. However, he never achieved the same standing in the fashion capital as he had at Bologna.

Gerd Müller is one of the greatest legends in the history of FC Bayern Munich, but at the beginning of his career, the "Bomber" almost ended up on the blue side of Munich.

As an 18-year-old, he was already scoring for fun at his then-home club TSV Nördlingen, which attracted the attention of both Munich clubs, 1860 and Bayern.

Representatives of the "Lions" announced they would visit Müller at home to discuss a transfer. When Müller arrived home on the scheduled date, his mother told him that "a few gentlemen from Munich have come who want to get you."

However, the gentlemen were not representatives of Bundesliga club 1860, but of the then-small second-division club FC Bayern. They managed to convince Müller, and when the announced representatives of 1860 arrived, the men of the Reds were ushered out the back door.

Nevertheless, he rejected 1860, a decision that the officials at the time will regret to this day. Müller not only shot Bayern into the Bundesliga, but also thanks to his goals, FCB developed into one of Europe's biggest clubs and by far Germany's largest club.

1860, on the other hand, meanwhile plays in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Bayern.

Willian also saw two rivals battle for a transfer.

The Brazilian was actually on the verge of a transfer from Anzhi Makhachkala to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. He was already in London and, following a verbal agreement, was at the Spurs' training ground to undergo his medical.

But just before the medical started, an offer from FC Chelsea came in. For Willian, it was immediately clear: he wanted to join the "Blues." However, the situation was not easy, as he was already at Tottenham.

"I will report you to FIFA, and the fans here in England will boo you," Tottenham's director reportedly told Willian back then.

The winger eventually had to wait eight hours at Spurs before he left and met directly with Chelsea officials. The deal went through, and Willian would go on to have seven successful years at Stamford Bridge.

After his departure, he did eventually move to North London, but again not to Spurs, but to their absolute arch-rivals, FC Arsenal. This likely solidified the Brazilian's status as one of the most disliked players among Tottenham fans.

Emmanuel Petit's move to FC Arsenal is often referred to as the mother of all hijacked transfers, and once again, Tottenham Hotspur missed out.

After playing for his youth club AS Monaco for years, Petit wanted to take the next step. The path led to the Premier League. He flew to London to hold talks with Spurs officials.

But when Arsenal got wind of the discussions, they immediately contacted the Frenchman. They told him he should not sign anything until he had spoken with Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger.

Since Petit had his breakthrough under Wenger at Monaco, he asked the Tottenham bosses for some time to consider. They agreed and arranged a taxi for the midfielder to his hotel.

However, Petit didn't go to the hotel; instead, he took the taxi paid for by Spurs to Arsene Wenger's house. The talks quickly led to success, and Petit signed with Arsenal.

The 1998 World Cup winner later said: "I had talks with Tottenham and Arsenal on the same day. When I came to England, I knew nothing of the rivalry between the two clubs. I also wasn't aware that the taxi had been paid for in advance by Spurs, so they knew where I was going."