5 emotional goodbyes of the winter transfer window

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Sanchez signed for Manchester Utd after a three and a half year spell at Arsenal

Its been yet another crazy window of transfer merry-go-rounds with some eye-popping deals being sealed and delivered in January.

We've seen Coutinho make his long-awaited, and inevitable, £142 million move to Barcelona. Jurgen Klopp broke the world record for a defender with his £75 million move for Virgil van Dijk.

Alexis Sanchez has finally left Arsenal, leaving Mkhitaryan free to go the other way, a move that set off a series of striker-exchanges between Arsenal, Dortmund, and Chelsea.

Wenger broke his club record to sign Aubameyang for £56 million, allowing Giroud to leave for Chelsea for £18 million, which meant that Dortmund took Batshuayi off of Conte's hands in a loan move till the end of the season.

It's fair to say that it has been one hell of a month. Unfortunately, it means that several other moves that would have otherwise been the center of attention have gone off the radar. Winter usually doesn't see a lot of emotional goodbyes, but we've had quite a few this time around that are worth revisiting.


#5 Francis Coquelin (Arsenal to Valencia)

Arsenal v West Ham United - Carabao Cup Quarter-Final
Coquelin's bound to be missed by the fans

With the very high profile arrival of Aubameyang, the Sanchez-Mkhitaryan swap deal and Ozil's contract renewal till 2021, Valencia's signing of Coquelin went unnoticed.

The Frenchman has been with Arsenal for almost 10 years, having joined them in 2008 as a 16-year-old. He spent loan spells at Lorient, Freiburg and Charlton Athletic before finally breaking into the first team in 2014.

Even though he's not always been the first choice since then, Coquelin has been one of Arsenal's most loyal and passionate players, winning 2 FA Cups and the Community Shield in 2015.

His performances eventually convinced Wenger to hand him a new long-term deal in January 2017. But this season, Wilshere, Ramsey, and Xhaka have been ahead of him in the pecking order, and at the age of 26, Coquelin is nearing his peak.

In the current inflated market, Valencia has gotten themselves a good deal at £12 million. It would have no doubt been difficult for Coquelin himself to make the move, but its come at the right time in his career.

#4 Inigo Martinez (Real Sociedad to Athletic Bilbao)

England v Spain - International Friendly
Martinez has 4 caps for Spain

Spanish center back Martinez might have been at Real Sociedad for almost 10 years, but this one's bound to leave a bitter aftertaste for their fans.

After Aymeric Laporte departed for Man City in a £57 million deal, Bilbao needed a big name to replace him, and they approached cross-city rivals Real Sociedad to activate Martinez's €30 million release clause.

Martinez first played for Sociedad's reserve team in the fourth division, helping them get promoted in 2010. In 2011, he made his La Liga debut and has been the first choice ever since, making 205 league appearances across six and a half seasons.

He even helped his team qualify for the Champions League after 21 years in 2012/13, making 34 appearances throughout that season.

He'll probably have to endure a few boos when he returns to the Anoeta with his new team, but every single Sociedad fan will acknowledge his incredible contributions to the club over the years.

#3 Theo Walcott (Arsenal to Everton)

Everton v Leicester City - Premier League
Will the move to Everton finally signal his revival?

Arsenal has been involved pretty heavily in this transfer window.

Walcott joined Arsenal from Southampton as a budding young teenager in 2006, and like Coquelin, he's always been around the fringes of the first team squad - not always an undoubted starter, but a very important player nevertheless.

Over the years, he's gone on to win 2 FA Cups and 2 Community Shields with the Gunners. During a difficult period of time for Arsenal after the 2004 Premier League title, Walcott's always been there when Wenger needed him - at the time of his departure for Everton, he was their longest serving player.

But with his niggling injury issues, new signings like Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, and even Ozil and Sanchez, and the emergence of youngsters like Alex Iwobi meant that his time at the Emirates was coming to an end.

His last appearance for England was also 2 years ago, and if he wanted to make a comeback to the national team ahead of the World Cup, he needed more game time.

Everton was a logical destination - in a squad desperately lacking pace up front, Walcott would be a regular starter, and £20 million is a decent fee. And its proven to be the right decision so far - his two goals against Leicester recently propelled the Toffees to a much-needed win.

#2 Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund to Saint Etienne)

Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League
Subotic's first team comeback this season was short lived

Serbian center back Subotic joined Dortmund from Mainz in 2008. He was an immediate hit at the Signal Iduna Park, turning heads with his impressive defensive displays.

In the 2009/10 season, he played every single minute of every league match. He eventually won the Bundesliga in 2011 and 2012. His rock solid defensive partnership with Mats Hummels was the foundation of Dortmund's tremendous success in the early part of the decade.

He was pretty much the first choice up until the 2014/15 season. He played an integral part in their immensely successful 2013/14 Champions League campaign which ended in a 2-1 loss in the final to rivals Bayern.

Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga coincided with the Serbian's fall from grace. He's still only 29, which is still young for a defender, but a few health issues over the last couple of years (particularly thrombosis in his arm in 2016) allowed other players like Sokratis stake their claim for a first-team spot.

A loan move to FC Koln effectively signaled the end of his time in Dortmund. A brief comeback under Peter Bosz was cut short when the Dutchman was sacked, leaving him no other option but to join Saint-Etienne on an 18-month contract.

#1 Javier Mascherano (Barcelona to Hebei China Fortune)

FC Barcelona v Chapecoense - Joan Gamper Trophy
Mascherano's chances have been severely limited this season

Easily the most high profile departure of the transfer window, if it hadn't been for all the big money deals going down elsewhere.

Still, Barca gave him a fitting tribute as he left for China to see out the final years of his career.

With Samuel Umtiti beginning to establish himself in the first team, Gerard Pique being as good as he's ever been, and the signing of 23-year-old Yerry Mina, it was only going to get more difficult for him to get back into the team.

He might not be a local lad like Iniesta or a La Masia product like Messi, but ever since he joined the Blaugrana, he's been as committed to them as anyone else.

He filled the void left by Puyol's retirement in the center of Barca's defense, bringing a ruggedness and solidity that served them well for seven and a half seasons.

His experience as a midfield enforcer at Liverpool helped him bring a versatility to the squad that Barca found to be invaluable over the years.

At the age of 33, he probably has only a couple of playing years left. His departure over the last couple of months had become inevitable, and it couldn't have been an easy decision to make, but Mascherano will move to China knowing how much his contributions meant to the club and fans.

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