10 World Class Players Who Refused to Train to Force a Transfer
If there is one person who dreads the final days of the transfer window, it is a football manager. Most managers who do their business early have their squads up and running in pre-season, ready to kick off the new campaign.
Then come the top clubs, circling like vultures, waiting to pounce on a player or two who have had their heads turned by dreams of winning trophies or earning higher wages (or even both).
It's a big headache for managers as their players even go AWOL to force a move away from the club. They refuse to attend training and even feign injuries (before miraculously passing club medicals *wink wink*) to avoid training and coming face-to-face with their current bosses.
Here are a few big names who refused to return to training to ensure they got their transfer sorted.
#1 Philippe Coutinho: Liverpool to Barcelona
After losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a record-breaking transfer, Barcelona had tried to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in the summer of 2017. But the Reds were unwilling to let their prized asset go - no matter the price.
Bid after bid was rejected by the Anfield club who vehemently claimed that no amount of money would convince them to part with Coutinho as Barcelona started to get desperate.
It was at this time when Coutinho himself did not train with Liverpool. Klopp did say he was injured but, of course, nobody was buying that without a closer look behind the scenes.
"Phil is not available. He's not in training so far," Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said at the time. "Nobody has told me anything different. It's always how it is with injured players, there's no real set time for when he's back."
Once the transfer window closed, Coutinho was available to play again and even played in the Champions League, helping the Reds qualify for the knockout stages.
However, Barcelona sealed the deal in January 2018 and this time Liverpool did not stand in his way as they signed off on a £142m transfer.
