5 of Barcelona's strangest signings ever

#5: Keirrison

Barcelona's new signing Brazilian Keirri — Keirrison never kicked a ball for Barcelona after signing with them in 2009

While Rustu, Hleb, Chygrynskiy, and Song clearly didn’t fit into the Barcelona mould and all struggled during their time at the Nou Camp, at least they actually played some games in the famous Barca shirt. The same cannot be said for Brazilian striker Keirrison, making him perhaps their strangest signing of all time.

As a teenager with Brazilian club Coritiba, Keirrison showed clear potential, scoring 33 goals across two seasons for them.

Although South American football expert Tim Vickery stated that he probably wasn’t ready for European football - made it a huge surprise when Barcelona swooped for him just six months, after he moved to larger Brazilian side Palmeiras.

In the summer of 2009, Barca announced that they’d signed the Brazilian, but due to his raw nature, they decided to allow him to move on loan to gain some experience before attempting to break into the first team.

And that was pretty much that. A loan move to Benfica went wildly wrong, with Keirrison making just 7 appearances and failing to score a single goal. Another loan to Fiorentina went just as badly and from there, the striker moved back to Brazil, finally leaving Barca on a free transfer in 2014 without ever kicking a ball for them.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Akhilesh Tirumala