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The summer transfer window is still on. European heavyweights continue to go head-to-head in their quest to beat one another to the finest deals. This is a period that brings a lot of joy to the fans. Watching their favorite clubs making dream signings produces an incomparable excitement.
However, the transfer window is also known for producing some of the ugliest moments in the memories of these fans. While losing one's favorite player to a rival club or being betrayed by a star figure saddens the heart tremendously, nothing beats the pain of watching a dream transfer collapsing at the dying minutes, especially if it's due to unforeseen circumstances.
Over the years, we've witnessed several instances in which everything suggested that a player was on his way to a new club, only to learn shortly afterward that the transfer had fallen through, albeit for some incomprehensible reason. Below, we look at 5 of such scenarios:
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#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Arsenal
It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that Arsenal are the most unlucky club when it comes to transfer businesses. The Gunners have had a lot of near misses in attempts to sign famous footballers. One of them is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swede attacker, at 16 years of age, visited Arsenal's training facilities and even trained with the first team. He was granted a shirt with his name on the back and it looked like he was already becoming an Arsenal player until Arsene Wenger made a terrible mistake that led to a capitulation.
The then Gunners manager asked the striker to go through a trial and he responded: ''Zlatan doesn't do auditions.''
#4 Robert Lewandowski to Blackburn Rovers
When Robert Lewandowski broke through the ranks at Lech Poznan, Blackburn made an attempt to lure him to England and a bid of £4 million was enough to convince the player's party. Sadly, a terrible natural disaster would prevent the deal from going through.
When it was time for the striker to travel to England, a volcanic ash cloud was discovered in Iceland, which forced all flights in and out of the UK to be canceled. Lewandowski would later sign a deal with Borussia Dortmund instead, where he spent a couple of years before moving to Bayern Munich.
#3 Alfredo Di Stefano to Barcelona
Alfredo Di Stefano is arguably the greatest footballer to ever wear a Real Madrid jersey but not many know that the Argentine could have played for Los Blancos' arch rivals Barcelona had things panned out differently at the time of his transfer.
According to records, Barca signed Di Stefano in 1953. The Blaugrana reached an agreement with River Plate, who owned the player's rights. Meanwhile, at the same time, Real Madrid also struck a deal with Millionarios, the club the striker was playing for at that moment.
A huge confusion ensued. Backed by the infamous regime of Franco, it was ruled that Stefano would play alternate seasons for each club. Left disappointed, Barca decided to pull out of the deal and the striker became a Los Blancos player.
He scored 308 official goals for the Galacticos and led them to claim 5 consecutive European Cup triumphs.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo to Arsenal
Cristiano Ronaldo has written his name among the greatest footballers in history, with over 600 career goals to his name at club level. How beautiful it would have been if the Portuguese maestro had scored half of those goals wearing the Arsenal jersey!
Similar to how Arsenal missed out on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's signature, the Gunners also suffered a near-miss with Ronaldo. The then 18-year-old trained with the Londoners and went so close to joining them that he was presented with his own No. 9 jersey.
However, a price could not be agreed with the player's club Sporting Lisbon and that eventually proved decisive in the negotiations. Manchester United pounced on the opportunity and submitted a convincing bid to Sporting.
They ended up signing the attacker for £12 million in 2003 and he would later lead them to claim the Champions League, the EPL title, the FA Cup and other honors including winning the Ballon d'Or for himself.
#1 Diego Maradona to Sheffield United
In 1978, Sheffield United were close to pulling off a transfer that would have forever changed their history. They were on the verge of housing one of the greatest footballers the world has seen in Diego Maradona but ended up missing out as a result of a costly mistake that will haunt them forever.
The then Sheffield boss Harry Haslam went on a scouting trip to Argentina and saw 17-year-old Maradona in action. He immediately started preparing a £200,000 bid for the player but the club's board were reluctant to pay the fee for the rising star.
Instead, they decided to pay £160,000 to acquire another Argentine talent, Alex Sabella. After just a while, Maradona moved to Europe where he eventually rose to prominence. He enjoyed successful spells with Barcelona and Napoli and had the whole world singing his name.
