5 players who changed clubs twice in the same transfer window
Emerson Royal had a topsy-turvy summer transfer window, to say the least. The Brazilian international began the summer by moving from Real Betis to Barcelona after the Catalans exercised a €9 million clause in his contract to sign him.
But Barcelona's financial problems meant Emerson's time at one of the biggest clubs in the world lasted just under three months and limited him to just three La Liga appearances.
The 22-year-old was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for €25 million on the final day of the transfer window, enabling the Catalan giants to raise some funds.
Other players have endured a similar transfer window in the past
Emerson is not the first player in football history to move twice in the same transfer window. Several other players have endured a similar fate of joining a club at the start of the transfer window, only to end up somewhere else before the window is shut.
Here we take a look at five other players apart from Emerson who moved twice in the same transfer window:
#5 Benik Afobe | Bournemouth - Wolves - Stoke City (2018)
Benik Afobe's double-transfer window came as recently as the summer of 2018. Afobe impressed in League One and Championship with MK Dons and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
As such, Eddie Howe offered him the chance to play in the Premier League with Bournemouth in January 2016. But Afobe only managed to score 11 goals in his first 18 months at the club and found himself out of favor at the start of 2018.
The striker was loaned back to his former club Wolves in the January transfer window. He scored six goals in 16 games for Nuno Espirito Santo's side to help them earn promotion to the Premier League.
Wolves splashed out €10 million to sign Afobe on a permanent transfer from Bournemouth. They had little intention of playing him in the top-flight though. Just 11 days later, Wolves sold him to recently relegated Stoke City for €12 million, earning a healthy €2 million profit.
Stoke, however, regretted the transfer as Afobe failed to dazzle at the club, scoring just nine goals in 49 games that season.
Afobe is still on the books at Stoke but has spent the last three years on loan at Bristol City, Trabzonspor and Millwall.
#4 Marc Cucurella | Barcelona - Eibar - Barcelona - Getafe (2019)
Another recent example of a player moving more than once in the same transfer window, Marc Cucurella, changed clubs thrice in the summer of 2019.
Young full-back Cucurella came through the La Masia academy at Barcelona but left the club to join Eibar on loan in 2018. After a successful loan spell, Eibar decided to make the transfer permanent by exercising a €2 million buyout clause in his contract.
However, Barcelona included a buy-back clause of €4 million in his contract which could be activated at any time. What Eibar would not have expected was Barcelona activating that clause just 16 days later.
Just when you thought the whole transfer saga was over, Barcelona let Cucurella go out on loan to Getafe just two days after signing him. Getafe had the option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the 2019-20 season, this time with a buyout clause of €6 million. Getafe did just that, but Barcelona chose not to include any other clauses.
Three different moves in one transfer window. It was a really strange transfer saga all-around. Cucurella was recently snapped up by Brighton from Getafe for around €18 million during the summer transfer window.