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#3 Roberto Soldado to Levante
Roberto Soldado recently completed his transfer from Granada to Levante for a minimal fee of €460k. Once an upcoming talent at Real Madrid, Soldado was a highly sought-after player, back in his Valencia days. However, the Spaniard experienced a significant drop in form after his transfer to Spurs in 2013, for a fee of €30m. With just 16 goals to show for his 2 years in England, Soldado returned to Spain with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.
Still duking it out in the professional leagues at the ripe old age of 36, the Valencia-born striker has had two very impressive seasons with the Andalusian side. Soldado helped them in qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in the club's history, in his debut season. He scored 3 goals in Granada's run to the quarter-final stage last year, where they were beaten by Manchester United.
The 12-time-capped Spanish international has struggled with injuries and form throughout his career. But if his 2-year-stint at Granada is anything to go by, Soldado still has some cards up his sleeve. His clinical finishing could help Levante finish in the top half for the first time since the 13/14 season and turn this transfer into a success.
#2 João Mário to Benfica
Another 'wonderkid' who succumbed to the inescapable pressure, João Mário was one of the best of the lot during the latter seasons of his Sporting CP career. His big-money transfer came to fruition when Inter Milan paid the Portuguese club, €40+5m for his services. After two sub-par seasons, he was ultimately ousted from the club by newly-appointed boss, Luciano Spaletti.
The Portuguese midfielder eventually left on three successive loan transfers, unable to settle at any of his destinations. Despite receiving high praise for his work rate during his time at West Ham United, the €40m option-to-buy proved too costly for the Hammers to trigger a permanent transfer. The subsequent loan to Lokomotiv Moscow reaped no reward whatsoever.
Mario has finally returned to Portugal, first with his parent club Sporting CP, on a season-long loan and now permanently with Benfica. Reportedly, the Green and Whites were interested in re-signing their former player. Unfortunately for them, nothing materialized and Benfica swooped in at the last minute to obtain Joao Mario on a free transfer.
#1 Florian Thauvin to Tigres UANL
In a somewhat shocking transfer, it was revealed in May 2021 that Florian Thauvin would not be extending his Marseille contract and would instead move to Mexico with Tigres UANL, amidst interest from several top flight clubs in Europe. The judgment brought an end to the World Cup winner's second spell with the Olympians.
Initially signed from Bastia, Marseille re-signed Thauvin after two disappointing seasons at Newcastle United. In total, the French club spent close to €25m on the enigmatic winger: €15m in the first transfer and €9.8m to signal his return. However, it would be safe to say that Thauvin more than repaid their trust, scoring 46 league goals in his homecoming stint. His 17/18 form is particularly well documented as Thauvin almost single-handedly took Marseille to European glory, failing in the penultimate step against Atletico Madrid in the Europa league final.
The former Newcastle man is still in his prime and his decision to reject a transfer to heavyweights like Milan, Atletico and Lyon in favor of the Tigers may come as a surprise to many. But Thauvin was quoted saying:
"I didn’t feel good at Marseille, I didn’t feel good in my life. My life changed a lot because my son arrived, so I needed to change my life. I don’t like talking about money, that’s why I’m not in Tigres. In France, in Spain or Italy gave me a lot of money too. If I wanted to play for money, I don’t come to Mexico, I would have played in China or Saudi Arabia. Here I have everything to be happy, play football, the fans, a very big club, titles, there is everything."
It would be interesting to see how the 28-year-old creative maestro links up with former teammate André-Pierre Gignac in Mexico. The duo will also be seen representing France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
