Derby County somehow made £500k profit on striker who broke the rules to sign for the Rams: View | OneFootball

Esteban Fuertes joined the Rams from Colon in 1999, but played just eight games for the club before leaving in controversial circumstances.

By the summer of 1999, the feel good factor that had followed Derby County through the latter stages of the decade seemed to be drying up.

Assistant manager Steve McClaren had moved to Manchester United in February of that year, leaving Jim Smith without the man who had helped carry the Rams from a mid-table Division One side, to one that was challenging towards the top end of the Premier League in just three years.

Club legend Igor Štimac had left the club for West Ham United, while cult heroes Robin Van de Laan and Paulo Wanchope had also moved on to pastures new.

The signs of decline were obvious, but the signing of Argentinian striker Esteban Fuertes from Colon in South America looked to be one that could turn the fortunes of the club around. However, what followed is perhaps one of the most bizarre situations in Derby's 140-year history.

Esteban Fuertes was an exciting signing for Derby County and started brightly

It took Smith three months to bring Fuertes to Pride Park for £2.3 million, but his patience was rewarded almost instantly, when the then 26-year-old scored the winner in just his second game against Everton, securing the Rams their first home win of the season.

Just under a month later, the Argentinian scored yet again, this time in the second round of the League Cup against Swansea City.

It took a replay for Derby to get past the Third Division side (fourth tier), after a 0-0 draw in South Wales took the tie back to Pride Park in September 1999. Fuertes scored the opener in a 3-1 win for Smith's team, however, they were knocked out in the next round by Bolton Wanderers.

Although the Rams finished eighth in the Premier League in 1998/99, they struggled throughout the next campaign, and they embarked on a six-match winless run in the league, following their victory over Everton.

However, the on-field antics would soon be overshadowed by a remarkable situation off it.

Esteban Fuertes' exit was unceremonious and embarrassing for Derby

Derby ended their poor run of form with an excellent win against Chelsea, beating the now two-time European champions 3-1, but the tough test of Liverpool at Anfield halted any momentum that Smith's team may have gained from the victory.

Nevertheless, with a two-week break between the Liverpool fixture and the visit of Manchester United, the Rams' manager took his players and their partners to Portugal for a warm weather break.

However, on their re-entry to the United Kingdom, disaster struck.

In Smith's autobiography It's Only a Game, pg. 218-219, the former Oxford United boss wrote: "The immigration officials chose to scrutinize every detail of every passport, even down to using infra-red, almost as if they were looking for something in particular.

"If they were they certainly found it when they came to Fuertes and discovered that his Italian passport was a fake."

Fuertes was immediately banned from entering the country, and he was sent back to Argentina the next day, having broken the rules in the first place to come to England.

He rejoined his former club, Colon, on loan, and Fuertes was prolific in the first half of 2000 back in his home country, netting 17 goals in 18 matches in the top flight of Argentine football.

That prompted French outfit Lens to arrive at Derby's door with a permanent transfer approach for the South American, and in the summer of 2000 they came to an agreement on a £2.8 million fee - making £500k from a deal that had been odd from day one.

The striker went on to become a legend with Colon as he returned to the club three years later in 2003, eventually playing for the club on four different occasions, before going on to become the manager.

Yet Rams fans will always remember that fabled day in November 1999 when their multi-million pound striker was stranded away from not just Pride Park, but the country itself.