5 strangest swap deals in football history
Swap deals are a common mode of conducting player transfer deals between clubs. This can be beneficial for all parties involved.
A player may struggle to get going under a particular system or coach due to various reasons, but may thrive in another one. In such a case, his team may transfer the player to another club and pluck out another one from the destination club who would be a better fit.
Swap deals make sense from a financial perspective as well, especially if the market values of the two exchange players tend to be similar. There is very little cash transfer involved, which is helpful for cash-strapped teams.
With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on clubs' finances, swap deals have become the favored mode of business for many clubs. One such deal this summer involves Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann returning to Atletico Madrid and Saul Niguez going the other way.
With the Frenchman failing to find his footing at Camp Nou for two seasons, the deal is set to benefit both parties.
Barcelona need Griezmann's enormous wage bills off their books before they can make more summer reinforcements and also get Lionel Messi to sign a contract extension. Niguez, meanwhile, who has struggled in the last two seasons at Atletico Madrid, could flourish in his new surroundings.
However, not all swap deals make sense or produce the desired results for one or both clubs. On that note, let's have a look at the five strangest swap deals in the history of the game.
#5 Clarence Seedorf - Francesco Coco (2002)
The swap deal did not make any sense for Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri sent a 26-year-old Champions League winner, Clarence Seedorf, to their city rivals AC Milan, who were all too happy to send the struggling and injury-prone Francesco Coco the other way.
As things turned out, Seedorf went on to become a legend at AC Milan, winning two Champions League titles.
Coco, meanwhile, failed to overcome his injury woes, with the left-back making only 40 appearances in three seasons before calling it a day.
#4 Fabio Cannavaro - Fabian Carini (2004)
Inter Milan's decision to send centre-back Fabio Cannavaro to Juventus in exchange for the Bianconeri's Uruguayan goalkeeper Fabian Carini left experts scratching their heads in disbelief.
To say that it was an incredibly poor piece of business from the Nerazzurri would be an understatement. That's because while Carini, who was surplus to requirements at Juventus, failed to break into the first team at the San Siro either, making only four appearances,
Cannavaro, meanwhile, went on to form one of the most formidable defensive line-ups in club football with Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon helping the Bianconeri to consecutive Serie A titles. The second was stripped, though, because of the infamous Calciopoli scandal.
Fabio Cannavaro went on to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup with the Azzurri and won the Ballon d'Or award that year after joining Real Madrid.