Signings stolen from their eternal rival
Nowadays, people love football and everything surrounding it in many cases, such as the transfer market, where personalities in that world have even emerged, confirming transfers and negotiations in advance. This world of transfers involves many factors, both aspects that clubs take into account and the player himself, which is why negotiations can take 180-degree turns. It's happened to plenty of clubs that they've had a player almost signed, and suddenly, he leaves for another club. This is quite annoying, but if the club he's going to is one of your biggest rivals, it's even worse. Here we are listing nine famous cases where this happened.
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Mikel John Obi (2005 - 2006)
This is one of the biggest transfer disputes in European football in recent decades. Upon turning 18, the Nigerian signed a professional contract with Norwegian club Lyn, even though he had arrived in Europe thanks to Chelsea, with whom he had trained a year earlier and had made a very good impression. After a few successful matches in Norway, Manchester United offered him a contract, which John Obi accepted, unaware that Lyn and Chelsea had already agreed to sign a contract with him. The Nigerian took photos wearing a United shirt, sparking a dispute that FIFA eventually resolved. This "saga" began in 2005, and it wasn't until 2006 that his move to Chelsea was finalized.Marco Asensio (2014)
From a very young age, the Mallorcan Marco Asensio was scouted by Spain's top clubs, and in 2014, FC Barcelona reached an agreement with RCD Mallorca for around 4 million euro. However, due to the club's financial situation, Mallorca wanted the transfer fee to be paid in a single installment, while the Catalan club wanted to pay in multiple installments. Real Madrid stepped in, willing to make a single payment, and ultimately signed a contract with Asensio.
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David Beckham (2003)
Back in 2003, Laporta, recently elected president of FC Barcelona for the first time, used Beckham as one of his campaign promises if elected. Although they had a pre-agreement with Manchester United, the English midfielder had never agreed to join the Catalan club, as his intention was to join Real Madrid, as one of their Galacticos. Knowing this, Florentino Pérez made his move and signed Beckham, even though everything initially seemed to indicate a move to Barcelona.Eberechi Eze (2025)
This is a very recent one, and it took place between two London rivals: Arsenal and Tottenham. The latter were looking for a player with Eberechi Eze's qualities after James Maddison suffered a serious injury in preseason. Negotiations between Tottenham and Crystal Palace had been going on for weeks, and just when everything indicated the player would be headed to Spurs, Kai Havertz also suffered a serious injury, and Arsenal found themselves in need of a signing. Within hours, the transfer was negotiated with Crystal Palace, and in less than a day, Eze was announced as a new Gunners player.
Cristiano Ronaldo (2003)
Arsene Wenger was known for having a large network of scouts and a keen eye for detecting young talent during his time at Arsenal. During the 2002-03 season, Cristiano Ronaldo's first as a professional, Wenger met three times with the player and his mother to reach an agreement. The Portuguese's talent began to become obvious to Europe's big clubs, who wanted to sign him but leave him on loan at Sporting for another season. Only Arsenal was willing to take him immediately. In the summer of 2003, in a preseason match against Manchester United, the Portuguese player so impressed the Red Devils' players and Sir Alex Ferguson himself that he immediately made a higher offer than Arsenal's and signed the player, bringing him straight into the first team.Alfredo Di Stefano (1952-1953)
It must be said that football in the 1950s was very different from today. For example, at that time, there was a Colombian football league, which wasn't approved by FIFA, where Di Stefano played for Millonarios. However, the Argentine had just played for River Plate, a contract that was approved by FIFA since the Buenos Aires giant was affiliated with the governing body of world football. Barcelona and Real Madrid wanted to sign Di Stefano, and both reached an agreement, with one signing with River Plate and the other with Millonarios. The matter required the intervention of several organizations, and the decision was that the Argentine would play two years with one club and two with the other. This caused a stir within Barcelona, which initially accepted the agreement but later backed out. Thus, in 1953, Alfredo Di Stefano signed for Real Madrid, and the rest is history.