FIVE Of The LONGEST Transfer Sagas In Premier League History

David Tully

2 years ago

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leeds, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Southampton, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves

It can take a lot of time and effort to get a transfer over the line. Not only do two clubs have to agree on a fee, but agent commissions, wages and interest from other teams can all complicate negotiations.

As we have seen this summer with Frenkie de Jong, a player can also get into disagreements with their own club about a transfer, leading to talks dragging on and on.

Sagas are not uncommon, and in today’s post, we will be listing some memorable Premier League transfers that took forever to complete.

Press the next page as we go through five of the longest transfer sagas in English football.

Cristiano Ronaldo (2008 to 2009)

Speculation began to increase about Real Madrid’s interest in the forward after Manchester United won the Champions League final in 2008. Sir Alex Ferguson shot down the rumours but later admitted that there was a verbal agreement for the player to leave Old Trafford if Real came in with a good enough bid the following summer.

A year after the initial reports, Ronaldo completed a world record £80m move to Madrid, with the player going on to spend nine years at the Bernabeu.

Ashley Cole (2005 to 2006)

Cole and his agent Pini Zahavi went to a secret meeting with Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho and Peter Kenyon in January 2005. While Cole denied that a transfer was talked about, he was fined (along with Mourinho) for holding discussions without Arsenal’s approval.

Negotiations over a new contract with the Gunners had become protracted and a transfer was eventually agreed in the summer of 2006, with Chelsea paying £5m plus William Gallas for Cole’s services.

Jadon Sancho (2020 to 2021)

Manchester United spent most of the summer of 2020 negotiating a deal to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund but they could not negotiate down the winger’s £108m asking price.

However, the Red Devils remained patient to get their man. They returned a year later and managed to cut the best part of £35m off Sancho’s original valuation, securing his signature for £73m.

Steven Gerrard – (2004 to 2005)

Chelsea’s interest in the Liverpool captain started in the summer of 2004, but new manager Rafa Benitez managed to persuade the midfielder into staying at Anfield. Despite going on to win the Champions League in 2005, though, a move to London looked increasingly likely.

Gerrard handed in a transfer request, with Chelsea reportedly tabling a £32m bid. However, after an uproar from fans, the player made a dramatic U-turn and signed a new contract with the Reds.

Kalidou Koulibaly – (2015 to 2022)

Chelsea were first linked with the Senegalese international all the way back in 2015 when Jose Mourinho was still manager. The Portuguese wanted a long-term replacement for John Terry but the money wasn’t there to sign the Napoli defender.

Over the intervening years, Koulibaly was linked with the Blues almost every summer. It may have taken seven seasons (during which time Chelsea have had five different managers) but Koulibaly has finally arrived at Stamford Bridge.