The 22 weirdest transfers ever, ft. Lingard & Coutinho | OneFootball

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UPDATE: 2023/07/21 13:25 EST BY OLLY ROBERTS

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Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al-Nassr has sparked an abundance of peculiar transfers.

Indeed, the Portuguese star's decision to play his football in Saudia Arabia has seemingly inspired a number of other top players to do the same.

The likes of N'Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly are just some of the huge names who swapped Europe for the Middle East.

Equally, Lionel Messi's decision to join David Beckham's Inter Miami has made the MLS a similarly attractive proposition for those eager for a lucrative contract.

Messi has already been joined by former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, with Luis Suarez and Iniesta reportedly close to signing as well.

The most peculiar transfers of all time

But while Ronaldo and Messi's surprising transfers have led a plethora of top talents to take the money, these moves are far from the most bizarre deals ever.

We at GIVEMESPORT have taken it upon ourselves to look back at some of the most nonsensical and unexplainable transfers from over the years and picked out a handful that you might enjoy.

Some deals range from the obscure to the obscene, and there are many you may well have forgotten.

With that in mind, here are the 22 ‘weirdest’ signings of all time. Check out the bonkers list below:

Jesse Lingard to Nottingham Forest

After falling out of favour at Manchester United, Lingard was linked with a number of Premier League clubs in the summer of 2022.

West Ham were desperate to secure his services, while the newly rich Newcastle were also heavily linked.

However, out of nowhere, Lingard opted to join newly promoted Nottingham Forest for a reported £200,000 a week.

The transfer stunned the majority of football fans. Some wondered how on earth Forest could afford to pay Lingard such a lucrative wage, while others were confused as to why he would turn down moving back to the Hammers –– the club that helped revive his career.

It proved to be a disaster for Lingard. One year later and the midfielder has been released.

Now he's been linked with a move to Wayne Rooney's D.C United in the MLS.

Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham

We're counting this as two transfers.

To this day, nobody knows how West Ham managed to lure two of Argentina’s biggest talents to Upton Park in 2007.

Turns out, they didn’t really sign them, or did they? You be the judge of that. Either way, the deals were totally bizarre.

Both had short-lived careers with the Hammers but went on to enjoy world-class careers elsewhere.

Gennaro Gattuso to Rangers

Though Gattuso is best remembered as an AC Milan legend, he once swapped sunny Italy for Glasgow as a 19-year-old, when he moved from Perugia to Rangers.

Gattuso spent just one season with the club but played with other world-class names, including Paul Gascoigne.

Juninho to Middlesborough

Attracting a skilful Brazilian midfielder to North Yorkshire is no easy task, but Middlesborough somehow managed it three times with Juninho.

Voted by fans as Boro’s best-ever player, he helped the club win the League Cup in 2004 – the team’s first and only major honour.

Alex Morgan to Tottenham

Spurs only secured a spot in the Women’s Super League in 2019, but just a year later, they managed to secure the signature of one of the greatest women’s players ever.

Morgan had won the World Cup with the USA the year before, but joined Tottenham on a peculiar three-month loan deal. In total, she played just five games –– managing two goals.

Jay Jay Okocha to Bolton

Search Okocha’s highlight reel on YouTube and you won’t be disappointed.

The skilful Nigerian left PSG for Bolton in 2002 and helped guide the club away from relegation.

He remains a club icon to this day and you can certainly put him in the category of players the 'streets won't forget.'

Julien Faubert to Real Madrid

Faubert made only eight appearances for West Ham in his first season with the club but somehow managed to secure a loan deal to Real Madrid the following year.

As Paul Merson proclaimed at the time: “His agent should be knighted by the Queen.”

Carli Lloyd to Man City

Another US legend –– another random move to an English club.

Manchester City secured the services of two-time World Cup winner Lloyd back in 2017 for the WSL Spring Series.

She played just six times and was sent off in her final game for elbowing Yeovil’s Annie Heatherson in the face.

Joey Barton to Marseille

In 2013, Marseille decided that Barton’s fiery temper would be a perfect fit for their side.

The English midfielder spent a year on loan at the club in 2013 and unsuccessfully tried to grasp the accent –– as seen in this hilarious clip.

Bojan Krcic to Stoke

Having been dubbed the next Lionel Messi at one point, Bojan’s decision to swap Tiki Taka for long-ball at Stoke City certainly came as a surprise.

Believe it or not, the Spaniard stayed at the club for five seasons and even played for them in the Championship.

Esteban Cambiasso to Leicester City

Real Madrid - Inter Milan - Leicester City. An unconventional career path to say the least, but Cambiasso’s move to the Kingpower proved to be a massive hit.

If he’d only stayed an extra year, he’d have a Premier League winners' medal.

Nicklas Bendtner to Juventus

While Bendtner fully believed himself to be one of the best strikers on the planet, few teams seemed to agree over the course of his career.

One exception, however, is Juventus, who signed the Dane on loan from Arsenal in 2012, after his spell at Sunderland came to an end.

Sadly, it did not prove to be a stroke of genius as Bendtner scored no goals in Turin.

Phillipe Coutinho to Aston Villa

Coutinho signed for Barcelona for €160 million (£ 136 million) in 2018. Less than four years later, he was loaned to Aston Villa

The Brazilian enjoyed his time in Birmingham and signed permanently for Steven Gerrard’s side last summer. Just the £100 million loss for Barcelona in the end.

Sadly, Coutinho has struggled since signing for Villa – scoring just once in his first full season with the club.

Tobin Heath to Arsenal

This transfer was a secret to all until former England star Anita Asante slipped the news live on Sky Sports.

Heath had played for United the following season and was expected to be a star at Arsenal.

However, the American spent the majority of her time in North London on the bench and was released before the end of the season.

Luther Blissett to AC Milan

Watford’s all-time top scorer joined AC Milian for £1 million back in 1983, but he scored just five goals for the club.

Italy also failed to satisfy his dietary requirements, with Blissett once proclaiming: "No matter how much money you have here, you can't seem to get Rice Krispies.”

Ali Dia to Southampton

Ok, you should all know this one by now. Ali Dia convincing Graeme Sounness he was George Weah’s cousin is still hilarious to this day.

“He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch,” admitted Matt Le Tissier.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to PSG

Choupo-Mouting scored just five goals in his first season with Stoke, but this was still enough to attract the interest of PSG.

Playing alongside the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, the Cameroon international spent two years in France.

Then, after his contract expired, he somehow secured a move to Bayern Munich. We’re not sure how, either.

Christian Eriksen to Brentford

It seemed Eriksen might never play football again after his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

Yet, six months later, Brentford took a chance on the Dane and he proved to be an instant star for the Premier League newbies.

So much so that Manchester United secured his services last season.

Erikson went on to enjoy a successful campaign with the Red Devils – winning the Carabao Cup.

Eni Aluko to Juventus

Aluko decided to leave WSL champions Chelsea for Juventus in 2018 but soon regretted her decision.

The former English forward called the city “decades behind” and said she was made to feel like Pablo Escobar on some occasions. A bit harsh, perhaps?

Jack Wilshere to Aarhus Gymnastikforening

Wilshere was an incredibly gifted player in his prime but injuries ruined a career that had once promised special things.

After leaving Bournemouth in 2021, Wilshere failed to find another English club and joined Danish side Aarhus Gymnastikforening.

After five months at the club, he was released and soon announced his retirement from football.