10 botched transfers after Chelsea's Ziyech missed out on joining PSG
A fax machine thwarted De Gea’s Real Madrid move, Leicester registered Silva 14 SECONDS too late and Blackburn missed out on Lewandowski because of an Icelandic volcano! 10 botched transfers after Chelsea blamed computer glitch for Ziyech not joining PSG
- Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech missed out on joining PSG on loan on deadline day
- David de Gea and Robert Lewandowski have missed out on moves in the past
- Sportsmail reflects on some of the biggest botched transfers over the years
The transfer window slammed shut on Tuesday night, with clubs across Europe racing against time to get the necessary paperwork completed before the deadline.
Many clubs managed to beat the clock, getting deals over the line to bolster their squad for the second half of the season.
But there was heartbreak for others, with Hakim Ziyech’s proposed switch to PSG falling through at the last minute.
The Chelsea winger is believed to be very ‘upset’ that he did not get his loan move away from Stamford Bridge, but he is not the only player to miss out on a deadline-day transfer in bizarre circumstances.
Sportsmail takes a look back at some of the most high-profile botched transfers as Ziyech prepares to spend the rest of the campaign in west London.
Hakim Ziyech’s proposed loan move from Chelsea to PSG fell through at the last minute
Let’s start with Ziyech as it remains fresh in the memory.
After Chelsea signed fellow forwards Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix and Noni Madueke earlier in the transfer window, it appeared the right time for Ziyech to move on and play regular football elsewhere.
PSG wanted the 29-year-old and a deal was in place for Ziyech to move to the French capital. The two clubs just needed to get the final documents signed and Ziyech would join PSG. Sounds simple, right?
Chelsea have claimed that a computer glitch prevented Ziyech from joining PSG
Or maybe not. According to French media, Chelsea sent the incorrect documents three times and missed several phone calls from PSG as the French club desperately tried to get the deal completed before the 11pm deadline.
By the time the correct documents came through it was too late and the deal was off, as confirmed by Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) early on Wednesday morning.
Chelsea have blamed a computer glitch for the documentation failing to reach PSG in time, but the French club were not amused by the Blues’ explanation, and are furious that they missed out on Ziyech.
Ash cloud stops Blackburn signing Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski has been one of the best strikers on the planet for over a decade, starring at Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and now Barcelona.
But his career could have been very different if he had joined Blackburn Rovers in 2010. Yes, that’s right, a move to Ewood Park was actually on the cards for the Polish forward.
After speaking to then-Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce, Lewandowski was invited to watch the team play against Everton so that he could get a sense of the place before potentially joining the club.
Robert Lewandowski was set to join Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn from Lech Poznan in 2010
Only Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano then erupted and caused an ash cloud, resulting in flights being cancelled across Europe.
And with that eruption went Blackburn’s chances of signing Lewandowski. He never went to see the team play and ended up joining Dortmund later that year.
He’s done pretty well for himself since, winning 10 Bundesliga titles and the Champions League.
James poses with a Leeds shirt, then heads back to Swansea
Dan James broke into the Swansea first-team at the start of the 2018-19 season, and after impressing in the early stages of the campaign, he looked set to join promotion-chasing Leeds in January.
The deal was agreed and James headed up to Leeds to sign on the dotted line.
He was so confident that he would be joining the club that he even posed with a Leeds shirt with his name on the back.
Dan James posed with a Leeds shirt, but did not end up joining the club in 2019
Swansea started having second thoughts, though, leaving James hanging around the Leeds training ground waiting to see whether he would be allowed to leave the Welsh club or not.
Unfortunately for him, this was all caught on camera as well, as part of Amazon’s documentary series on Leeds, Take Us Home.
Eventually, Swansea decided to keep James, and he stayed there until the end of the season. Six months later he joined Manchester United, and two years after that he did finally move to Leeds, before being loaned out to Fulham.
Remy fails Liverpool medical, before winning the title at Chelsea
Loic Remy scored 14 goals in 26 league matches for Newcastle in the 2013-14 season, and it quickly became clear that QPR were not going to be able to hold onto him when his loan spell at St James’ Park ended.
Liverpool identified Remy as a potential replacement for Luis Suarez that summer as the Uruguayan headed off to Barcelona, and the French striker just needed to complete his medical to secure his move to Anfield.
However, the club’s doctors were not happy with the results of Remy’s medical, and the Reds pulled the plug at the last minute.
Loic Remy helped Chelsea to the title after failing his Liverpool medical
Chelsea had no such concerns and quickly swooped in to sign Remy from right under their title rivals’ noses.
The following season, Chelsea won the league for the first time in five years, finishing 25 points clear of Liverpool who ended up sixth after losing Suarez and opting against bringing in Remy.
Meanwhile, Remy chipped in with seven goals in 19 top-flight games to rub salt into Liverpool’s wounds.
Barcelona miss out on Araujo by 18 seconds
Barcelona already have one Araujo in their ranks, centre-back Ronald, but decided in January that wasn’t enough as they made their move for LA Galaxy full-back Julian Araujo.
The two clubs agreed a $4m (£3.2m) fee, and it was then a race to get the paperwork completed.
The problem for Barcelona was that they were also trying to offload Hector Bellerin at the same time, and they reportedly started their paperwork for Araujo too late.
Barcelona were too slow when it came to registering LA Galaxy full-back Julian Araujo
Bellerin got his move, with the former Arsenal defender joining Sporting Lisbon until the end of the season, but there was no such luck for Araujo as Barcelona submitted his paperwork 18 seconds after the deadline.
Saying that every second counts may seem a little extreme when the transfer window is open for a full month, but in this case it really did.
Barcelona are now waiting to see if FIFA will ratify the deal, but cases from the past indicate that their chances of getting a positive outcome are slim.
Leicester are 14 seconds too slow for Silva
Leicester know Barcelona’s pain. In fact, they came even closer to signing a player than the Catalan giants, but alas, they were also beaten by the clock.
Adrien Silva looked to be heading to the King Power Stadium in August 2017 for £22m from Sporting Lisbon.
It was a big-money move for the Foxes, and they had needed to work hard to get an agreement in place.
Leicester were 14 seconds too late when registering Sporting Lisbon’s Adrien Silva in 2017
Eventually they did, and it all came down to getting the paperwork sent off to FIFA. Which they did, only it arrived 14 seconds after the deadline.
And FIFA weren’t feeling in a particularly generous mood as they blocked the move despite Leicester’s protestations.
Silva finally joined Leicester in January 2019. Was the hassle worth it? Not really, as he went on to make just 21 appearances for the club and did not score a single goal before leaving for Sampdoria on a free transfer the following year.
Fax machine thwarts De Gea’s Real Madrid move
Some may expect fax machines to be going out of fashion in the 21st century but they were still going strong at Real Madrid in 2015.
That summer, the Spanish giants struck a deal with Manchester United that would see David de Gea move to the Bernabeu with Keylor Navas going in the opposite direction.
How did they decide to finalise the switch? That’s right, they used a fax machine.
An issue with a fax machine meant that David de Gea did not join Real Madrid in 2015
It will come as no surprise to anyone that has ever used a fax machine that this slowed down the process, and resulted in the documentation being sent off after the deadline, meaning the deal was off.
Navas admitted afterwards that he was in tears following the failed move, but he went on to win two more Champions League trophies with Real Madrid to cheer himself up.
De Gea remains at United eight years later, and has racked up over 500 appearances for the club.
Blackburn choose Sherwood over Zidane
Blackburn were flying high in 1995, fresh off the back of pipping Manchester United to the Premier League title.
Sitting at the top of the English pyramid, they had their pick of the best players, including a certain Zinedine Zidane, who was starting to make his mark for Bordeaux in France.
Playing in behind the famous ‘SAS’ combination of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, Zidane would have likely fitted in seamlessly.
Blackburn passed up the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane in 1995. He joined Juventus the following year
But Blackburn owner Jack Walker felt differently, and allegedly made the claim: ‘Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?’
Zidane proceeded to show Walker over the next decade exactly why any club should want to buy him, as he won the World Cup, the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.
Sherwood left Blackburn in 1999, just months before they were relegated from the top-flight, to join Tottenham.
Babel’s helicopter antics
After joining Liverpool in 2007, Ryan Babel had fallen out of favour by 2010 and looked to be closing in on an exit from Anfield that summer.
Tottenham and West Ham were both linked with the Dutchman, and when he headed towards the capital in a helicopter on deadline day, football fans were intrigued to see where he would land.
Yet no one actually saw him touch down in London, and he was back in Liverpool by the evening.
Ryan Babel flew towards London in 2010, but ended up remaining at Liverpool
He ended up hanging around on Merseyside for another five months before joining Hoffenheim in January 20111.
Babel would get the chance to play in London in when he moved to Fulham in January 2019, but the club were relegated that season and he left to join Galatasaray six months later.
It’s only right to finish with this classic on its 10-year anniversary.
Peter Odemwingie decided that his time at West Brom was done in January 2013, and took matters into his own hands by driving to QPR’s training ground to force through a move to the London club.
He was even greeted at the gates by the Sky Sports cameras, and stopped for a quick interview out of his car window where he declared that he was ready for ‘a new chapter’.
Peter Odemwingie was interview from his car window by Sky Sports, but did not join QPR
But West Brom and QPR had not agreed a deal, and the striker was refused access to the latter’s facilities as he was made to wait outside in his car.
The deadline ticked by, and Odemwingie was forced to drive back to the Midlands to re-join his West Brom team-mates.
Unsurprisingly, he was sold to Cardiff in the next transfer window. He never did end up playing for QPR.
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