Five phantom signings who never played a single match 👻 | OneFootball

Lightning Transfers.

Just like Matt Turner, an OL recruit who was loaned to the New England Revolution without ever playing for Lyon, players have often made headlines by being recruited by a club only to leave without ever playing a single match.

OneFootball invites you to (re)discover some of these absurd transfers.

Savinho, from Troyes to Girona to Manchester City

📸 DARREN STAPLES - AFP or licensors

A transfer saga brought to us by the City galaxy. Announced as a rising star, Savinho left Atlético Mineiro to surprisingly sign with Troyes for 6.5 million euros, becoming the most expensive signing in the club's history.

Without playing a single match there, he was first loaned to PSV Eindhoven before being loaned again to Girona. After a fabulous season in Spain, where he led his club to the Champions League, Savinho returned to Troyes before being sold to parent club Manchester City for 25 million euros.

The Brazilian thus also became the biggest sale in the club's history, without ever having played a single match or even set foot in the city.

Roberto Ayala, from Villarreal to Zaragoza

In 2007, after losing the Copa America final to Brazil, the Argentine legend left Valencia FC freely, having signed an agreement with Villarreal in February.

However, Zaragoza came in the summer and activated the defender's release clause, which was set at six million euros. As a result, Roberto Ayala left Villarreal without ever wearing their colors in an official match.

📸 Bagu Blanco - 2008 Getty Images

Florian Thauvin, from Lille to Marseille

This transfer made headlines for many weeks in France. After an outstanding season with Bastia, Florian Thauvin was sold in the winter to LOSC for around 2 million euros. The northern club immediately loaned him back to the Corsican club to finish the season.

However, at the end of the 2012-13 season, Lille finished sixth in Ligue 1, and OM, second in the championship, expressed their interest. The negotiations were tough, and the player skipped the start of training to push the club to sell him to Marseille.

After several exhausting weeks, LOSC finally ceded Florian Thauvin to OM on the last day of the transfer window for 15 million euros.

Bébé, from Guimaraes to Manchester United

📸 Gallo Images - 2012 Getty Images

A look back at a fallen Premier League hope. After a promising season with Estrela de Amadora, Bébé left the club freely in 2010 due to unpaid wages.

At just 20 years old, he moved to Vitoria Guimaraes where he shone in a friendly match with five goals. That was enough for Manchester United, who thought they had found the new Portuguese star, and paid eight million euros to secure the striker's services without a single official match for Guimaraes.

As a result, Bébé played only seven matches with Manchester United, scoring just two goals, and left the club in 2014 after numerous unsuccessful loans.

Ernest Nuamah, from Molenbeek to Lyon

📸 JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK

It's one of John Textor's transfers that garnered the most attention. Performing very well at Nordsjaelland, the Ghanaian winger was purchased in 2023 for the modest sum of 25 million euros by Molenbeek, a club owned by John Textor whose biggest transfer until then was... 2.5 million euros.

The day after his arrival in Belgium, Nuamah was loaned to OL with a purchase option of 28.5 million euros. A transfer that caused discontent among several French football officials and even prompted FIFA to open an investigation.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT