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Transfer windows are certainly the most intriguing periods of the footballing calendar. Clubs fret over getting deals done, fans and pundits speculating over the players a club needs to reach the next level and online media, newspapers and tabloids rife with rumours about players linked with various clubs.
There are instances where a transfer changes the landscape of the beautiful game, such as the €222 million world-record transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain. On other occasions, a club picks up a player who turns into a world-beater like when Liverpool snapped up Luis Suarez from Ajax Amsterdam for just €26.50 million. There's also the very real possibility of a transfer not working out like the swap deal which involved Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexis Sanchez between Manchester United and Arsenal.
The Summer Transfer Window of 2004 was an interesting one and saw some of the finest attacking talent on the move. Here are 6 world-class strikers who switched clubs during the months of May 2004 to August 2004.
6. Robin van Persie - Feyenoord to Arsenal (£2.75 million, 17th May, 2004)
One of the best strikers to have featured in the Premier League, Robin van Persie moved from his hometown club Feyenoord Rotterdam having fallen out with manager Bert van Marwijk. He made the move to Highbury, the home of Premier League champions Arsenal who had finished the previous season without having suffered a defeat.
Former Arsenal manager, the legendary Arsene Wenger, had stumbled upon a maverick but unquestionably world-class talent, much like he had done in 1999 when he bought Thierry Henry from Juventus. After 4 injury-ridden seasons, 'RvP' came into his own and developed into an all-round forward, capable of both scoring as well as assisting goals for fun. However, all those goals and great creative play never translated into trophies as the 2004 Community Shield and the 2005 FA Cup (a penalty shoot-out win over future club Manchester United) remain the only pieces of silverware he won at Arsenal.
In the summer of 2012, differences between RvP, who had by now attained the status of club talisman, and Wenger on how the club should move forward led to the player being transferred to fierce rivals Manchester United for only £24 million. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson considered the transfer to be a coup as RvP scored 26 league goals including a hat trick inside 20 minutes against Aston Villa to hand the league title to United. He received a guard of honour at former club Arsenal in the club's next fixture.
His next two seasons at United were disrupted by managerial changes, structural changes at the club and injuries. He left for Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2015 and finished his career at his former stomping grounds at Feyenoord in 2019.
5. Hernan Crespo - Chelsea to AC Milan (season-long loan, 15th July 2004)
Hernan Crespo was a fast, tenacious striker who possessed good technique and could score goals with both feet and was exceptional in the air. A prolific and opportunistic goal-scorer, he was known for his ability to score acrobatic goals.
In 2004, newly appointed Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho deemed Hernan Crespo surplus to his requirements following the arrival of Didier Drogba and allowed him to be loaned to Italian giants AC Milan. He returned to the Serie A, where he had spent 7 successful seasons after just one year at Chelsea. His transfer to Lazio from Parma in the year 2000 had been a world record transfer at £35 million involving cash payment of £16 million and player sales of worth £19 million.
Crespo scored 10 goals in the league and twice in the Champions League final defeat against Liverpool in Istanbul, before returning to Chelsea in 2005 winning the Premier League in the 2005-06 season. He then left for Inter Milan in 2006, initially on a 2-year loan deal and then permanently on a free transfer in 2008, winning the Serie A in each of his three seasons in his second spell with the club. He then moved to Genoa and winded his career down at Parma.
4. Didier Drogba - Olympique de Marseille to Chelsea (£24 million, 20th July 2004)
Didier Drogba was a physically imposing and a hard-working striker. Known for his hold-up play and speed, physicality and pace, his powerful and accurate shot was the most impressive attribute of his game.
Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Drogba started his football career at Le Mans, who were then in Ligue 2, signing his first professional contract aged 21. Two seasons later, Ligue 1 side Guingamp snapped him up for £80,000. He helped the club avoid relegation in his first season with the club and then propelled them to 7th, their best-ever finish in Ligue 1, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances.
He then moved to Chelsea in 2004, where he'd attain legendary status. Over two spells with the club, he won the league and the FA Cup 4 times, the League Cup (now known as the Carabao Cup) thrice, the Community Shield twice and the 2012 UEFA Champions League, scoring a dramatic equaliser in the 88th minute and then the winner in the ensuing penalty shoot-out in what turned out to be his final game for the club in his first spell.
He then moved to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in 2012. He moved back to Europe within 6 months and signed for Turkish club Galatasaray in January 2013. 18 months later, he was back at Chelsea under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, the man who had initially brought him to Stamford Bridge.
He then winded his career down at Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact and United Soccer League side Pheonix Rising, a club he owns, thus becoming the first player-owner in the history of professional club football.
3. Micheal Owen - Liverpool to Real Madrid (£8 million, 13th August, 2004)
Micheal Owen combined speed, acceleration and accurate finishing to become one of the deadliest strikers during his prime, probably second only to the great Ronaldo, who'd be his teammate during his solitary season at Real Madrid. Such was Liverpool's dependence on him that Sam Allardice once said, "Stop Michael Owen scoring and you are 50 per cent towards getting a result at Anfield."
Owen burst on to the scene as a 17-year old and scored on his Premier League debut against Wimbledon on 12th May 1997. However, a 2-1 defeat handed Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United the title. Owen would never win the coveted prize with Liverpool and a free transfer to the old enemy would hand him a Premier League medal.
After being top scorer for Liverpool in each of his 8 seasons with the club and winning the Ballon d'Or in 2001 as Liverpool won the now mockingly dubbed 'Mickey Mouse' treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and the UEFA Cup, Owen moved to Real Madrid in August 2004 after months of media speculation. Unfortunately for Owen, this move would be his undoing. Aged just 22, he was seen as the centre forward for a Galactico Madrid side for the foreseeable future. Owen made sporadic appearances, most of them from the bench and yet managed to score 13 goals, including Madrid's fourth in a 4-2 win in the El Classico in April 2005.
The Englishman then moved to Newcastle in a club-record £16 million deal. Owen's stint in the northwest of England can only be termed as disastrous as he managed only 79 appearances scoring 30 goals in 5 injury-ravaged seasons. He also captained the magpies to relegation in 2009.
Owen enraged the Liverpool faithful when he joined Manchester United in 2009. He scored 17 goals over a mere 52 appearances over 3 seasons capturing the Premier League in 2011-12. Owen's most important contribution was his injury-time winner against Manchester City in a thrilling encounter at Old Trafford which United won 4-3 in September 2009. Owen left Manchester United at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season and joined Stoke City on a free, where he scored a solitary goal in 9 appearances before retiring aged 33 meaning he scored only 48 club goals after attaining the age of 23.
2. Samuel Eto'o - Mallorca to Barcelona (£24 million, 26th August, 2004)
The finest African striker since George Weah, Samuel Eto'o was known for being a fast, energetic striker possessing exceptional dribbling ability, excellent close control, accurate shots. He was also an immense aerial threat. Primarily plying his trade as a centre forward, he showcased his footballing intelligence throughout his career by adapting to the manager's preferred system and playing in other positions, most notably under Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
Eto'o joined Real Madrid's youth set-up in 1997 but failed to progress to the first team and made only 3 appearances. He then joined Mallorca in 1999, initially on loan but made the move permanent the next season. He would go on to become Mallorca's all-time top goalscorer with 54 goals, was adored by the fans and returned the favour by donating €30,000 to the fans who had travelled to support their club for the 2003 Copa del Rey final against Recreativo de Huelva, which Mallorca won 3-0, thanks to Eto'o scoring two late goals.
Despite interest from former club Real Madrid, he then moved to arch-rivals Barcelona, where he won 3 La Liga titles, the 2008-09 Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de Espana and the UEFA Champions League twice. He won the historic treble of the League (La Liga), the Cup (Copa del Rey) and the European Cup (UEFA Champions League) in 2009 and departed for Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan due to difference with then Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.
He then repeated his treble-winning success in his first season with Inter Milan as the swooped the Serie A and Super Coppa Italiana and won the Champions League defeating Bayern Munich in the final and former club Barcelona in the semifinal.
After leaving Inter in 2011, he became sort of a journeyman with spells in Russia, where he was the best-paid player on the planet, England with Chelsea and Everton, Italy and Turkey before finally hanging up his boots in 2018 following a brief spell in Qatar.
1. Wayne Rooney - Everton to Manchester United (£25.6 million, 31st August, 2004)
Despite being England's and Manchester United's all-time top scorer, Wayne Rooney, and not Ravel Morrison, is the biggest disappointment to have emerged from both camps as Morrison was a bright talent at youth level. Rooney, on the other hand, was thought to be a better all-round player than Cristiano Ronaldo during their formative years at Manchester United.
Having joined Everton's academy aged 9, Rooney made his first-team debut against Tottenham in a 2-2 draw. He was booed by Spurs' fans who chanted 'Who are ya?' whenever he was in possession. Just over two months later, Rooney let them know he was as he scored the winner against Tottenham's arch-rivals Arsenal, ending their 30 match unbeaten run. After the match, Arsene Wenger, known for having an eye for world-class talent, said that Rooney was the biggest talent he'd witnessed during his time in England thus far.
After spending another season at Everton and starring at Euro 2004, Rooney then joined Manchester United scoring a hat trick on his United and Champions League debut against Turkish outfit Fenerbahce. Rooney spent 13 years at the Old Trafford club winning every possible trophy on offer, ending with 5 Premier League titles, 4 Community Shields, 3 League Cups (now known as the Carabao Cup), and the 2016 FA Cup, the 2008 UEFA Champions League, the 2008 Club World Cup and the 2017 Europa League scoring 253 goals (including 183 in the Premier League, the most by a player for a club) and garnering 103 assists (third-most in the Premier League) in the process.
At the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, he moved to back to boyhood club Everton for a season before making the across the pond to DC United. 18 months, 48 appearances, 23 goals and 15 assists into his contract, he decided to move back to England with EFL Championship side Derby County, with the contract beginning on 1st January, 2020 and a possible player-coach role in the offing.
