Former Inter Milan, AC Milan, Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona deals all feature.
Inter Milan’s Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto’o (L) salutes Barcelona’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic before their UEFA Champions League football match at San Siro Stadium in Milan on…
Every transfer window there seems to be a massive player swap deal reported in the papers, from David De Gea plus cash for Cristiano Ronaldo to Nicolas Anelka for Thierry Henry. The fact is, in England and the Premier League, swap deals (or major ones at least) are incredibly rare, yet they continue to reported as though they are a common occurrence.
Finally this week though, it appears that we have a rumoured swap deal with some actual substance behind it. Arsenal look to be holding tight when it comes to the sale of want-away star Alexis Sanchez, who only has a year left on his deal at the Emirates, yet the Gunners and holding out for £70 million plus a player, possibly Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero.
It seems unlikely that Manchester City will let go of either, but it got us thinking, what are some of the biggest swap deals that have actually happened? One thing quickly became clear, the Italians do swap deals more than anyone else, and one team from Milan has a particular penchant for them. Here are our top seven biggest player swap deals in football:
7. Antonio Cassano for Giampaolo Pazzini
In the summer of 2012, Milan rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan traded two Italian internationals. Giampaolo Pazzini, a man nicknamed ‘the Madman’ headed to AC Milan, whilst Antonio Cassano, who also happens to be a bit of a nutter, transferred to Inter Milan, with Inter also receiving cash as part of the deal. Oddly enough, Pazzini and Cassano had played some of their best football together at Sampdoria, and perhaps either Milan team would have been better off having the pair of them together.
Neither player made waves with the new clubs, but both have made headlines recently, with Cassano retiring twice in the space of a week during the summer and Pazzini bagging 23 goals for Hellas Verona last season.
6. Nemanja Matic for David Luiz
Chelsea were determined to bring in David Luiz from Benfica back in January 2011, offering the Portuguese giants €25 million plus Nemanja Matic. Luiz ended up being rather calamitous in defence for the Blues, but they still managed to sell him to PSG for £50 million. Matic meanwhile impressed in his two-and-a-half years with Benfica, so Chelsea bought him back for £21 million. They would later re-sign David Luiz from PSG and sell Matic once more to Manchester United. Funny how these things turn out, eh.
5. Clarence Seedorf for Francesco Coco
Another player exchange between city rivals Inter and AC Milan, just what Inter Milan were thinking letting Clarence Seedorf leave for their biggest rivals with only Francesco Coco coming in return, we’re not quite sure. Seedorf had already won league titles in Holland and Spain, as well as winning the Champions League with both Ajax and Real Madrid and amassing over 50 caps for the Netherlands. He went on to be regarded as one of the finest midfielders of his generation. Coco was never capped by Italy after 2002, the year of the move, played 26 league games for Inter, went out on-loan twice and retired at 30.
4. Ricardo Quaresma for Deco
Following Porto’s success in the 2004 Champions League and Portugal’s exploits at Euro 2004, Deco had the choice of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Barcelona in the summer of 2004. He ended up heading for Catalonia, but not before a drawn out transfer dispute. In the end, Barcelona paid €15 million plus the services of compatriot and flop Ricardo Quaresma, who had joined Barca only a year earlier. Deco went on to win five trophies in four years at the Camp Nou, whilst Quaresma did well for Porto but never quite hit the heights many felt he was capable of.
3. William Gallas for Ashley Cole
When it comes to transfer sagas, they don’t get much messier or heated than Ashley Cole’s move from Arsenal to London rivals Chelsea. Having originally valued Cole at £25 million, Arsenal eventually accepted a deal of £5 million plus French international William Gallas in exchange for their prized left-back. Cole won nine trophies in eight years at the Bridge, whilst Gallas won nothing in four years at Arsenal and left for North London rivals Spurs.
2. Fabio Cannavaro for Fabian Carini
Oh Inter, what have you done this time? For a team that has a greater fondness for player swap deals than anyone else, Inter Milan haven’t half done some shockers. In 2004, they exchanged Fabio Cannavaro for Fabian Carini in a straight swap with no cash involved. The Uruguayan goalkeeper played 4 games in 3 years at Inter, being third and later fourth choice goalkeeper, before leaving on a free. Cannavaro won two Serie A titles, captained Italy to victory at the World Cup and won a Ballon d’Or, all within two years of leaving Inter. A poor piece of business by the Nerazzurri, it’s probably fair to say.
1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Samuel Eto’o
The biggest swap deal in history is surely Zlatan Ibrahimovic in exchange for Samuel Eto’o. Two of the greatest forwards of their generations, both were in their prime years. As well as acquiring the services of Eto’o, Inter Milan also received €46 million when Zlatan departed for Barcelona. Following some of the swap deal nightmares Inter have had, it’s fair to say the Zlatan for Eto’o plus cash deal proved to be a smart piece of business by Jose Mourinho.
The Cameroon legend scored 52 goals in 103 games over two seasons in Milan, helping the team win six trophies, including a historic treble in 2010, and they recouped £25 million when they sold him to Russian outfit Anzhi. Ibra scored 21 goals in 45 games at Barca, but struggled to dislodge Lionel Messi from the central attacking role in the side. Now both in their mid 30’s, both are still going strong, Zlatan having scored 72 goals in 97 games over the last two seasons and Eto’o bagging 36 in 60 over the same period.
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