The 6️⃣ stand-offs that rocked the transfer window 💥 | OneFootball

When the transfer window turns sour.

As every summer, the transfer market has been the scene of sometimes extreme tension between certain clubs and one of their players wanting to leave.

While players often end up winning these standoffs, clubs can also stand firm and manage to keep their player.

Julian Alvarez and Atlético de Madrid

This was one of the sagas that kept Barça and Colchoneros fans on edge all summer long.

Between the player's public requests to leave the club, Barça’s very aggressive communication about its offer and its expiry date, and Atlético de Madrid’s clear and openly stated desire not to let the Argentine join a direct rival, the conflict quickly began to simmer.

Whistled by his own supporters and left out of collective training for a while, the Argentine will have his work cut out to win back his club’s favor.

Although he ultimately stayed at Atlético de Madrid despite major offers from the Catalan rival, Los Colchoneros had still opened the door to a move to Arsenal. A destination rejected by Julian Alvarez, who only wanted FC Barcelona.

Moïse Kean and Fiorentina

After a painful season with Fiorentina, close to relegation for many months, Moïse Kean had decided he wanted a change of scenery, especially when Como showed interest.

For many days, the striker remained stuck in Florence despite several offers from the club coached by Cesc Fabregas, with Fiorentina notably arguing that they first needed to find him a replacement.

The Italian striker then decided to show up late for training to express his dissatisfaction. An attitude that did not go down well at all with the club’s management, who decided to fine him and also make him train individually in the afternoons.

In the end, the former PSG player got his way and signed for Como in the final hours of the transfer window.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo and LOSC

Sometimes it’s hard to resist the lure of the Premier League or a European giant. That’s a bit what Matias Fernandez-Pardo went through this summer.

At 21, and after two promising seasons in Lille, the Belgian winger was called up for the World Cup and caught the eye of Atlético de Madrid and Newcastle in particular.

The problem was that Lille were already finalizing the huge sale of Bouaddi and had no need to sell any more players to balance their budget. To force through his transfer, the player therefore refused to come on during a pre-season friendly.

The message was clear, but Lille did not budge at first. It would take 70 million euros just to open negotiations.

After many days of an intense standoff, and once Lille had secured the signing of his replacement, Ayase Ueda, Fernandez-Pardo left the club in the final hours of the transfer window to join Newcastle for 65 million euros.

Pierre-Émile Hojbjerg and OM

Pierre-Émile Hojbjerg’s case is quite a particular one, since it wasn’t the player who dug in his heels to leave OM, but the club that did everything it could to get the Dane to leave.

Forced to trim its wage bill as much as possible, OM tried to sell its key players throughout the summer. An agreement had then been reached with Newcastle for around nine million euros for the sale of Pierre-Émile Hojbjerg.

But the midfielder never gave his approval to join Newcastle, probably feeling very comfortable in the south of France.

According to some media reports, that decision did not sit well at all with the club’s owner, who expressly asked for his captain’s armband to be taken away before publicly reminding everyone that the club’s interests should come before personal interests.

For now, Pierre-Émile Hojbjerg is still under contract and will spend at least the next five months in OM colors.

Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa

It was one of the summer’s biggest sagas in England, and one that Unai Emery did not appreciate much.

Targeted by Al Hilal to replace Karim Benzema, Ollie Watkins did everything he could to join the Saudi club. It worked out in the end, but not without damage.

To force his transfer, the English striker simply refused to play in Aston Villa’s Premier League opener against Brighton (a 0-4 defeat for Villa).

After the match, Unai Emery, clearly deeply affected by his player’s decision, refused to comment on the matter.

Then, a few days later, when his move to Al Hilal was announced, Unai Emery opened up about those tense days and showed a lot of class toward his former striker.

"He told us after the match that he was sorry and that he had made a mistake. We accepted it — and so did the players — because he had always been impeccable in his attitude toward the club and toward me [...] I said goodbye to him with a big hug and a few tears," the Aston Villa manager explained.

Enzo Fernandez and Chelsea

This was probably the longest standoff of the last few years. As early as the winter transfer window, Enzo Fernandez had publicly spoken about his desire to leave, though more with Madrid in mind.

Then in the summer, it happened again. With Enzo Maresca arriving at Manchester City, the Argentine midfielder reportedly pulled out all the stops internally to join the Sky Blues.

Chelsea therefore tried everything to keep their player. Exclusion from the squad, a price set in advance and expiring at a specific date and time... but nothing worked.

After long weeks of suspense, the Argentine midfielder finally signed for Manchester City for a record fee in English football.

What about you — which standoffs kept you on edge during this transfer window? Tell us all about it in the comments!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU - AFP or licensors