10 star players whose clubs refused to sell them

Over the course of the last few decades, the game of football has grown exponentially, especially with the kind of money involved due to multi-million TV deals and sponsorships.

However, if there is one particular aspect of the game that has seen a significant development, it has to be the say of players with regards to their future.

Footballers, who were once seen as mere employees of the club are today seen as partners by several clubs.

However, there are times when clubs have to ensure that they have to remain in control of their resources and their decision to do so has led to several failed transfer sagas in the past.

In this segment, we take a look at 10 times football clubs refused to sell their players against their wishes.

---

#10 Carlos Tevez

Manchester City refused to let Carlos Tevez leave in the winter of 2010.

Carlos Tevez has always been a controversial figure. The Argentine, who wooed the footballing world with his performances for Boca Juniors and Corinthians very early in his career, has been the subject of numerous controversies during his playing career.

Tevez had moved to Manchester City amidst controversial terms and had become a crucial player for the side.

But, his antics off the field forced the hierarchy at the club into handing him a reduced role at the club and the Argentine did not take it well, handing in a transfer request in December of 2010.

The striker cited family reasons and breakdown in relationships with certain individuals and executives at the club for the reason he had placed a transfer request, but the Manchester club refused to let him leave.

It took a series of discussions with the club’s officials to ensure that Tevez continued to remain a Manchester City player, but his stay at the club remained a subject of constant and immense scrutiny until City decided enough was enough and let the Argentine leave in the summer of 2013 for Juventus.

The 33-year-old is currently employed by the Shanghai Shenhua after a brief spell at Boca Juniors, and despite not making footballing headlines, he remains one of the highest paid footballers in the world.

#9 Luka Modric

Tottenham Hotspur refused to sell Modric to Chelsea before selling him to Real Madrid just 12 months later.

Ever since Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea, the West London club has not been afraid to splash the cash on players they believe would improve the side and the hierarchy at the club had identified Luka Modric as the player they would leave no stone unturned to sign in the summer of 2011.

The Croatian midfielder had been in a phenomenal form for Tottenham Hotspur and was arguably the best central midfielder in the league during the 2010-11 season and Chelsea’s efforts were believed to be in the right direction.

The side had already placed 2 bids for the midfielder by the time the transfer deadline day arrived with their latest offer being of a whopping £30 million but Tottenham and Daniel Levy, in particular, were in no mood to let their star player leave, that despite Modric openly admitting that he wanted to leave.

Chelsea’s late bid o £40 million was rejected as well and Modric had to go back to playing for Spurs, which to his credit, he did with the aplomb expected of him.

While he did move just a season later, it was to Real Madrid, and after having a tough start to his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder has shown why he is amongst the elite central midfielders in the world with his performances for the Los Blancos.

#8 Alexis Sanchez

It seems improbable that Sanchez will remain an Arsenal player next season.

After a rather mediocre 2016-17 season, all eyes were on Arsene Wenger as the fans were keen to see the Frenchman add the required quality to the side.

While the signing of world-class players was an important measure of the club’s desire, the actual trouble seemed to be brewing within Arsenal.

After all, the club had failed to tie down the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to a new contract and with both the players being in their final years, Arsene was under immense pressure to either make sure they signed on the dotted lines or departed for a fee that would help the club rebuild themselves.

However, that was not the case to be despite the best efforts of Alexis Sanchez to leave the club.

The Chilean had shown no interest in signing a new contract and was keen on joining a club that would be in involved in the UEFA Champions League in the current season and even publicly admitted to the same but Wenger refused to sell the player and Alexis’ future remains a subject of intense scrutiny to this day.

It remains to be seen if the star attacker will have a change of heart and sign a new contract at the club and millions of Gunners worldwide will be hoping Arsene can convince him to do so at the earliest.

#7 Luis Suarez

Suarez almost signed for Arsenal in 2013.

If there was one word to describe Luis Suarez, it would be eccentric. The Uruguayan has the ability to score goals in abundance yet remains a figure that controversy does not want to part ways with.

Suarez arrived at Merseyside to sign for Liverpool in the winter transfer window of 2011 and immediately became a fan favourite with his performances in front of the goal.

However, after spending two and half years at the club where his side failed to challenge for any serious silverware, Suarez was growing frustrated with the media glare on him and sought a move away from the club, with Arsenal believed to be in the prime position to sign him.

However, what followed was a series of events that even to this day, cracks up Liverpool fans. Arsenal placed a bid of £40 million and 1 pound in order to activate what was believed to be Suarez’s release clause, and it was promptly dismissed by Liverpool.

Suarez, on the other hand, was not keen on staying and tried several antics to force a move but Liverpool stood firm and Suarez made sure that the side was repaid for their trust in his abilities by putting in numerous match-winning performances throughout the season.

While Suarez did eventually move, it was not to Arsenal, but to Barcelona for a fee believed to be in excess of £64.98 million, and continues to mesmerise the footballing world to with his performances to this day.

#6 Diego Costa

Chelsea's refusal to sell Costa to Tianjin Quanjian seems to have angered the Spaniard.

He has not been involved in a game for a few months now, but continues to be in the limelight courtesy of his apparent desire to leave Chelsea for his former club Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea had just won the Premier League and while the players were still celebrating, Antonio Conte, the club’s manager let Costa know that he does not feature in his plans and that is a story that has its roots in the last winter transfer window.

Apparently, Costa had received a huge financial offer from Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian FC and was keen to make the move as it was a significant improvement over his current contract with Chelsea.

However, Conte, who was keen to retain his star striker forced Costa to stay at the club and upon refusal to do so, the striker was even dropped to send a signal to his camp and it is a saga that refuses to come to a faster end, as Costa waits for Atletico Madrid to make a move for him amidst interest from several other clubs from across Europe.

While he has been named in Chelsea’s Premier League squad, he is yet to return to the club and has even sought legal advice on the way he has been handled by the club thus continuing to burn the bridges that exist between him and the Blues.

#5 Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney angered many be seeking a move to Manchester City in 2010.

There is no doubt that Wayne Rooney is a bonafide Manchester United legend but the Englishman almost broke millions of hearts worldwide in 2010.

After having spent 6 seasons at the club where he played an instrumental part in his side lifting several trophies, Rooney cited lack of ambition at the club as the reason he wanted to leave Old Trafford for their cross-town rivals and “noisy neighbours” Manchester City.

The striker was believed to have handed in a transfer request and sought a move away from the club but Sir Alex Ferguson remained firm that he did not want Rooney to leave the club, despite the player showing his unwillingness to sign a new contract.

The saga stretched for a few months and with the passage of time, it became very clear that Rooney would follow in the footsteps of Tevez for the hierarchy at the club, to make a bumper offer that Rooney could not refuse, thus securing his future at the club.

While the move to buckle to his demands was criticised by many Manchester United supports, the move helped the club send a clear signal to the other clubs that they had the financial muscle to ensure that their top talent would not be sold.

#4 Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool's pursuit of Van Dijk failed to bear any fruits.

The Dutch defender has been a phenomenal performer ever since he signed for Southampton and that has deservedly led to several top clubs from across Europe being linked to him.

However, many believed that Liverpool were in pole position to sign the former Celtic centre-back, as Jurgen Klopp was keen to bolster his defensive options in the recently concluded transfer window.

The Reds made a massive bid believed to be in the region of £75 million and were confident that a deal could be worked with Southampton as well as the player who was keen to make the move to the Merseyside to join Klopp’s project.

However, after spending several transfer windows selling their star players to Liverpool, Southampton decided that it was time they refused to sell their star players in a bid to become an elite club and thus began a saga that left the Reds embarrassed, to say the least.

Not only did the Merseysiders fail to land their top defensive target, they were even slapped with allegations of tapping up the Dutch defender which led to an FA investigation.

Even Van Dijk’s efforts to force a move by refusing to train with the side failed to bear any fruits and the defender remains on the books of Southampton, at least until the next transfer window.

#3 Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool's asking price of £178 million proved to be too much even for Barcelona.

In a transfer window that Liverpool failed to land their top defensive target, Liverpool also endured a few tough months as the side looked destined to leave their Brazilian magician Coutinho to Barcelona.

The departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain had put the Catalan club under immense pressure to acquire the services of an able replacement and the management at the club decided that Coutinho was the man who possessed the requisite partnership to form a lethal partnership alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Even though Coutinho let Klopp and co know that he preferred a move to Barcelona, the German refused to buckle under the pressure being heaped on him and to their credit, the hierarchy at the club ensured that Klopp had their backing.

What began as a firm stance that the player would not be sold, became soft as the end of the transfer window approached its end but there was a catch that forced even a club of Barcelona’s financial muscle to retrieve.

Liverpool decided that they would let Coutinho leave only if Barcelona could shell up a whopping sum of £178 million and that proved enough to ensure that the Brazilian remained a Liverpool player.

The Brazilian has now returned to Liverpool’s starting line-up and will be hoping to make amends for his failed transfer saga with a performance that would ensure his growth as a footballer.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid failed to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.

When Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Manchester United in 2003, there was no doubt that he was amongst the brightest young talent in the world of football.

Yet, his development over the next 6 seasons under the guidance of Sir Alex Fergusson surprised many as the Portuguese player went from being another talented attacker to a prolific goal scorer who possessed the ability to tear apart even the best of defences.

With Ronaldo scoring goals at a regular frequency and establishing himself as a player to reckon with at the Old Trafford, it was inevitable that he would attract the attention of European heavyweights Real Madrid, and the Spanish giants did not hesitate from letting Manchester United know that they were willing to go to any extent to sign the attacker to ensure they had the best player on the planet on their books in 2007.

While Ronaldo seemed very eager to make the move, Manchester United were not too keen to part ways with the man who possessed the golden touch and refused to sell him despite the efforts of the Portuguese player as well as the Spanish club.

However, the club could only hold on to him for another season before getting the move that he desperately wanted when Real decided to fork out £89 million for his services and the Portuguese player has repaid the club’s faith in full with his performances since joining them.

#1 David De Gea

A faulty fax machine proved to be reason De Gea did not get his desired move to Real Madrid in 2015.

If there is one club that has shown that they do not buckle under pressure very easily in the transfer market, it has to be Manchester United.

The English giants have used several measures to ensure that their leading man does not part ways with them in the past and are no strangers to fending off even the likes of Real Madrid.

Yet, in a world where clubs have to seek newer ways of ensuring that they hold on to their players, Manchester United made sure they found a comical yet effective way of keeping hold of a player.

Real Madrid had been constantly linked with United’s Spanish shot-stopper David De Gea and many believed it was a matter of when and not if and even De Gea tried to force through a move in 2015 by refusing to be involved in his side’s games and training with the side’s reserves.

It was largely believed that even a fee had been arranged between the two clubs in the region of £29 million also involving the arrival of Keylor Navas to the Old Trafford, only for Manchester United pull the plug on the deal at the very last minute.

The deal failed to materialise as the side failed to complete the due paperwork on the deadline day and a distraught De Gea was forced to stay at the club, where he continues to perform admirably to this day.