5 of the most shocking transfers of all time
Player transfers are the bread and butter of club football and yet, they can often be shocking and full of controversies.
A transfer can turn a player from a 'Hero' to a 'Traitor' overnight. There are quite a few instances where the fans became so furious with the player concerned, that they termed him as 'Judas'.
Transfers season can be exhilarating and frustrating in equal measure. The rumors, daily updates regarding the offers made for a player and the tense atmosphere among the fans makes it really exciting.
These days transfers almost never happen without prior hints and rumors, as the media covers every single move made by clubs.
Inspite of that, a few transfers have taken place that has shocked the public.
Nobody expected those deals to be finalized as they were simply treated as rumors in the initial days. However, those moves did happen and stunned everyone.
Here are '5 transfers which shocked the entire football world'.
#5 Julien Faubert (West Ham United to Real Madrid) - Loan Move
Julien Faubert joined Real Madrid on a loan deal from West Ham United for a reported fee of £1.5m for the 2008-09 season. Real also had an option to buy him permanently for an undisclosed fee.
Faubert was poor for West Ham in the previous season and nobody had any clue that why a club of Real Madrid's stature will sign a right-winger who had done nothing significant in 18 months in the Premier League.
He made just 8 appearances in his first season for West Ham due to injuries. His appearance count increased in the next season to 24 but he failed to score a single goal in these 32 Premier League matches
Real Madrid's then coach, Juande Ramos was looking for a right-winger and Wigan's Antonio Valencia was his first choice.
However, negotiations broke down as Real was not ready to pay the £35 million quoted by Wigan. Finally, Ramos ended up signing Faubert on a loan deal.
His stay at the Bernabeu lasted only for a season. Faubert made just two appearances for Los Blancos and played a total of 54 minutes for the entire season.
However, he will always be remembered for falling asleep on the bench during a match against Villarreal!