The weirdest transfer stories of all time!

The Premier League transfer window is now officially open and there are already rumours of big moves being secured across the big leagues (*cough* Mbappe), but let’s take a look at some of the craziest transfer stories that we've seen so far!

Ali Dia was a Senegalese footballer who played in the lower levels of French and German football before somehow convincing then Southampton manager, Graeme Souness, that he was Balon d’Or winner George Weah’s cousin and was signed to play for the Saints. Unsurprisingly, his spell at Southampton wasn’t a long one!

Before they were the all-conquering side of today, Manchester City were a mid-table Premier League club, until they were bought by Abu Dhabi United Group. Immediately they signed Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid. All well and good, but Robinho later said, “I knew I was going to play in England but I didn't know for which team”

Man City spent their first few years with untold wealth signing almost anyone and everyone, this included Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn after a brief but successful period with the Rovers. It’s safe to say City’s transfers are a little more thought through these days!

Tevez and Mascherano were coming off the back of starring roles at the 2006 World Cup for Argentina and it was only through a strange third-party ownership scheme that they found themselves at Upton Park. Mascherano would make only five appearances in claret and blue, but Tevez was a key cog in keeping the Hammers in the prem.

The early-2010s were a strange time at Arsenal, but few decisions made less sense than signing midfielder Kim Källström on loan despite knowing he was suffering from a significant back injury. In his own words, “I walked in, hit the penalty, we won a trophy and then I walked out again”

When the Brazilian superstar was leaving Sau Paulo he had the world at his feet with top clubs around the world looking to sign him. So he chose Middlesborough and he liked it so much he actually had three stints at the North East club, he must know something we don’t.

One of the best midfielders in Europe during the 2000s, the Dutchman was desperate to keep his career alive after leaving Ajax in 2009. Few could have predicted he choose then Championship side Crystal Palace as his next destination, let alone spending a few seasons as player-manager at League Two club, Barnet.

Blissett had a very successful career in England, with very a very good goal-scoring record whilst at Watford and Bournemouth. These spells were punctuated by a bizarre year at AC Milan where he certainly didn’t flourish, the main issue being, “you can't seem to get Rice Krispies."

This technically doesn’t count as the transfer didn’t happen, but back in January 2013, Odemwingie was dead set on a move from West Brom to Queens Park Rangers. This went so far that he was seen driving to QPR’s training ground to force the move through, despite no agreements from the clubs!

Socrates is one of Brazil’s true greats, so when Fiorentina signed him, it looked a massive coup for the Italian club, but Socrates had his own motives to move to Italy, namely, “I'm here to read Gramsci (Italian political writer) in original language”. It also turned out the Brazilian spent more time partying than practicing and his time in Florence did not last long.

A true ‘streets won’t forget’ footballer, Okocha played with such style and skill everyone was a fan of his. So it was certainly a little weird when he signed with ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce’s Bolton team more known for their long ball football and tactical fouls.

Julio Cesar is an Inter Milan legend, with over 200 appearances for I Nerazzurri including their shock 2010 Champions League final victory. So when he joined the slightly unhinged QPR side of the early 2010s, it certainly came as a bit of a shock to everyone involved.

The Danish midfielder never seemed to set the world alight whilst playing for Everton. He was certainly a good player and an important cog in David Moyes’ side, but certainly no one expected him to sign for Real Madrid in 2005. It took only 34 appearances for Madrid to decide maybe it wasn’t their best signing ever.

Never one to mince his words, Jose Mourinho was certainly not holding back when asked about the signing of Papy Djilobodji, the Portuguese stated, “It was not my choice. It was the choice of someone I trust completely, which is the same. I don’t know every player.” Perfect.

Arsenal were desperate for talent in August of 2011 having just lost 8-2 to Man United, enter Park Chu-young. Park was in the process of signing with Lille when Arsenal expressed interest leading to the Korean sneaking out of his hotel room to fly to London. He scored one goal for the Gunners, so no one really won this one.