5 clubs that missed out on huge transfer fees for their players
The transfer market is a hugely important period for clubs to generate sizeable amounts of transfer fees for their biggest assets (players). Earning revenue by selling potential world-beaters has been the name of the game over the last two decades. Several clubs across the globe have aced this strategy over the years.
Teams like AS Monaco, Sporting CP, Porto, Borussia Dortmund and many others have churned out massive fees by doing the same. They scout and identify young players at the right time and sell them when their value peaks in the market.
At the same time, they also play hardball at times to drive up the price of some players.
However, there are other clubs who are impeccable at identifying talents and developing them. However, they have, in instances, not been as smart during transfer negotiations.
On that note, let's take a look at five clubs that have missed out on huge transfer fees for their players.
#5 Leeds United
Leeds United barely staved off relegation last season as Jesse Marsch & co. managed to stay in the Premier League on the final day.
The club have since been busy in the transfer market as they have already signed six new players this summer.
In the process, they have offloaded stars like Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. However, while they did sell the former for a massive £64 million, they failed to garner a similar fee for Phillips.
Earlier this year, it was reported (as per Rudy Galetti) that the England star would be sold if Manchester City met Leeds' €70 million valuation of the player. Instead, Phillips joined the reigning Premier League champions for just €52 million this summer.
David Moyes on Kalvin Phillips joining Man City for £42m 🗣
"We bid more than that."
👀 https://t.co/EAyzDJjxy6
West Ham United manager David Moyes also recently claimed that his club bid more than the aforementioned amount for the midfielder in January (via Sports Illustrated).
Phillips, who had an excellent 2020-21 season with Leeds and followed it up with terrific Euros for England, saw his stock soar high last summer.
Although he struggled with injuries last season, he still played a crucial role in the center of the pitch for the Peacocks. He made 23 appearances in all competitions last season, contributing one goal and one assist.
Hence, it felt like a missed opportunity for Leeds United to churn out a massive fee from Manchester City. The Cityzens are known to shell out extravagant sums for the players they wish to sign.
#4 Olympique Lyon
Olympique Lyon are normally shrewd negotiators in the transfer market and often get opposition clubs to pay up their desired fees for their top players.
The €65 million fee for Tanguy Ndombele to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 or the €53 million for Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal in 2017 are examples of the same. However, the club certainly missed the mark when they decided to sell Nabil Fekir.
The French attacker, who was sold to Real Betis in 2019 for €20 million, was one of the hottest properties in world football five to six years ago. In the 2016-17 season, Fekir had 26 goal involvements in 49 appearances. He took his tally to 31 goal contributions in 40 games in the following season.
2018: Liverpool linked with midfielder Nabil Fekir for £50 million!
2019: Nabil Fekir moves to Real Betis for £20 million
Liverpool fans right now https://t.co/EcJU6DfgJH
Hence, Liverpool were keen to land his services in 2018 and had also reportedly (as per the Guardian) agreed a €60 million fee for him. However, the move fell through for one or more reasons and Lyon had to pay the price for it in 2019 by offloading him for a cut-price fee.
The Ligue 1 side are set to make the same mistake with Houssem Aouar as well. The midfielder had an excellent 2019-20 season as he played a crucial role in getting his side to the Champions League semi-finals. He had 12 goal contributions in 33 matches in all competitions.
Thus, Arsenal reportedly offered €35 million (as per ESPN) to sign the player in the summer of 2020 but that deal never took off.
Aouar's market value has currently dropped to €25 million and only has a year left on his contract. Thus, it might not be long before Lyon have to let him go for either a minimal fee or on a free transfer next summer.
#3 Juventus
Paulo Dybala bid goodbye to Juventus at the end of last season as his contract with the Old Lady expired in June.
The Argentine spent five glorious seasons at the club after joining from Palermo in 2015. He scored 115 goals and provided 48 assists in 293 games across all competitions for the Turin-based outfit.
However, letting a player of his age (28) and caliber leave for next to nothing seems like a poor decision by the Serie A side.
An incredible goal-scorer and chance creator, Dybala would be an incredible asset to any side in the world.
In fact, Manchester United also offered €68 million for his services back in 2017 (as per Gazetta dello Sport).
Tottenham Hotspur were also (as per Gianluca di Marzio) willing to offer as much as €70 million for his services in 2019.
Juventus reportedly accept a €70 million Tottenham offer for Paulo Dybala. [Di Marzio]
Player needs to agree personal terms before anything. Didn’t happen with United, same concerns again.
🚨 Juventus reportedly accept a €70 million Tottenham offer for Paulo Dybala. [Di Marzio]
➡️ Player needs to agree personal terms before anything. Didn’t happen with United, same concerns again.
➡️ 48hrs to make official. Unlikely. https://t.co/IsxgReool9
Thus, Juventus would have been better off selling him a couple of years ago itself. The Argentine has managed less than 50 league appearances over the last two seasons.
With the club not in the best financial state at the moment, Dybala's monstrous transfer fee would have helped them out today.
As per Fabrizio Romano, he is now set to join AS Roma this summer.
#2 Tottenham Hotspur
Daniel Levy, the current chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, is famous for negotiating mammoth deals for his stars. Gareth Bale's €100 million move to Real Madrid in 2013 is evidence of the same. The English businessman has been a shrewd operator in the transfer market at times.
However, several deals have also failed in the past due to Levy's reluctance to let a player go due to the opposition club's unwillingness to meet the required valuation. A perfect example for the same was Harry Kane's transfer saga with Manchester City last summer.
Manchester City are willing to wait a year to sign their ideal striker if they cannot prise Harry Kane away from Tottenham.
It will be a hard deal to get over the line with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy valuing Kane at more than £150 million.
[ESPN] https://t.co/Fm6GIy90cK
The England international was poised to leave Spurs as the Etihad outfit made a £100 million bid (as per Sky Sports) for his services. However, Levy, who valued Kane at over £150 million (as per The Guardian) was not prepared to let his prized asset leave the club. This was despite City being ready to offer upto £127 million for the striker.
Thus, Tottenham gave up on earning a massive fee for arguably their most prolific player in the 21st century.
However, that decision could eventually pay off. Kane, who has scored 247 goals in 385 games for the club, will hope to help them win a major trophy next season.
#1 Manchester United
Manchester United are finally rebuilding under Erik Ten Hag this summer. The Old Trafford faithful shall be hopeful of the club's fortunes turnaround under the Dutch manager.
The club have been busy in the transfer market, signing three players so far.
However, they have still been paying for the mis-management done by Ed Woodward & co. over the last decade or so. Contract dealings, sales and salary negotiations have been quite poor, especially for the most successful club in the Premier League era.
2012: Paul Pogba joins Juventus for free
2016: Paul Pogba joins Man United for £89m
Manchester United have let Pogba leave for free ... again 👀
⚫ 2012: Paul Pogba joins Juventus for free
🔴 2016: Paul Pogba joins Man United for £89m
⚫ 2022: Paul Pogba joins Juventus for free https://t.co/eq78EmgwLh
To put things into perspective, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani, Lee Grant and Juan Mata left the club on a free transfer this summer.
These six players arrived at the club for a whooping £170 million. This includes the £93 million fee they paid to re-sign Pogba from Juventus in 2016 after letting him leave on a free transfer in 2012. Instead, they have allowed the Frenchman to leave on a free transfer again.
Paris Saint-Germain were plotting a £50 million move for Pogba last summer (as per The Mirror). Jesse Lingard, too, could have been offloaded last season as West Ham United were interested in signing him (as per The Hard Tackle).
The departure of these six players might ultimately be a good thing for the club in the long run. However, not earning a single penny out of their sales is arguably one of the worst pieces of the transfer business in the club's history.