How Sunderland & Birmingham City avoided £6m transfer trap Middlesbrough fell into | OneFootball

Middlesbrough’s multimillion gamble on Mido resulted in minimal returns

In the summer of 2007, Egyptian forward Mido was at a crossroads.

Still only 24, he had already played in the top flights of Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, and England.

After an explosive loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur - where he scored 11 Premier League goals and showcased his physical, often unpredictable attacking style, Mido's stock was high, even if his reputation for controversy followed closely behind.

Middlesbrough’s £6m gamble on the Egyptian striker backfired

Both Sunderland and Birmingham City registered serious interest in Mido, with Steve Bruce, then managing Birmingham, leading negotiations for a £6 million deal.

However, the proposed move collapsed over personal terms, with wage demands and contract length proving insurmountable.

Sunderland, newly promoted under Roy Keane, also explored a deal before ultimately withdrawing.

Instead, it was Middlesbrough who secured his signature, agreeing a £6 million fee and offering favourable personal terms. The move was framed as a statement of intent for a club seeking to rebuild after the departures of key cult forwards Mark Viduka and Yakubu.

Mido made an immediate impact, scoring on his Boro debut against Fulham - yet any optimism quickly dissipated.

Persistent injuries, inconsistent performances, and a lack of tactical continuity under rookie manager Gareth Southgate undermined Mido’s spell at the Riverside.

Within months, Boro had turned to another record signing - Afonso Alves - effectively relegating Mido to a peripheral role. What followed was a string of loan spells, including underwhelming stints at Wigan and West Ham, and a rapid descent into footballing obscurity.

Mido’s decline justified transfer rejections from Birmingham City and Sunderland

In retrospect, Sunderland and Birmingham’s caution paid off. Though both clubs had been keen, they dodged a bullet by refusing to match Mido’s financial demands.

Mido himself has since acknowledged the misjudgement. In interviews, he has expressed regret over leaving Tottenham, where he had previously enjoyed a successful loan spell and found relative stability.

At Middlesbrough, he found neither. The club’s regression, combined with his own struggles for form and fitness, marked a tenure more by controversy than contribution.

By the time he retired at 30, following a brief and unproductive spell at Barnsley, Mido had become emblematic of unfulfilled potential.

His career, which once promised elite-level success, instead serves as a cautionary tale for clubs enticed by past reputation over long-term reliability.

For Middlesbrough, the £6 million outlay yielded minimal return. In contrast, Sunderland and Birmingham emerged unscathed - having assessed the risk and stepped away before it was too late.

Their decision not to proceed with the transfer, once seen as a missed opportunity, has since proven a clear case of sound judgement prevailing over impulse.