The Premier League players forced to stay against their will and how it panned out
In light of Arsenal's ongoing refusal to sell Alexis Sanchez, we take a closer look at what happened when clubs held on to their wantaway players during the transfer window
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Your support makes all the difference.Clubs are taking a stand against player power this summer, with Arsenal insisting on holding Alexis Sanchez to the last year of his contract while Spurs refuse to sell Eric Dier to Manchester United. It is a brave move but there have been times when clubs have taken that strong stance and, when the dust has settled, been rewarded with good performances as the player earns his move. But there are also times when the club would be better off taking the money on offer quickly.
Times when teams were rewarded for digging in
Luis Suarez, Liverpool, 2013
When Arsenal bid £40,000,001 for Luis Suarez in 2013 they thought it was a clever exploitation of his release clause, but it became the most famous failed transfer bid in history. Liverpool dug in and refused Suarez permission to speak to Arsenal. He even had to train on his own.
But when it was clear Suarez would not be sold, he was brought back into the squad, and delivered one of the best seasons of football seen by a player in England for years. Suarez scored 31 Premier League goals and pushed Liverpool within inches of their first title in a generation. He was sold that summer to Barcelona for £65m, comfortably more than Liverpool had turned down the year before. Even without a trophy to show for it, keeping him was vindicated.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, 2008
When Real Madrid first came for Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2008, then-Fifa president Sepp Blatter famously said it was “modern slavery” for Manchester United to hold onto him. Ronaldo even said that summer that he agreed with Blatter.
Sir Alex Ferguson saw things differently, told Ronaldo he would not be going anywhere. Ronaldo was frustrated but dug in and rewarded United with another brilliant season. His goals fired United to a third straight Premier League title and into the final of the Champions League, which they lost to Barcelona. Only after then was he sold to Real for £80m, a world-record fee.
Luka Modric, Tottenham, 2011
Luka Modric was the best midfielder in the country in 2011 and Chelsea thought he was the perfect man to rebuild their team around. Roman Abramovich offered £22m, £27m and then £40m on the last day of the transfer window, but Daniel Levy held firm and kept saying no. Modric desperately wanted to move to Chelsea and even withdrew from a game against Manchester United to try to force it.
But after the transfer window closed, Modric knuckled down and helped to push Tottenham back into fourth place. Only the bad luck of Chelsea winning the Champions League stopped them from returning to that competition. He was sold to Real Madrid that summer for £30m, although Spurs did not leave themselves enough time to get Joao Moutinho as a replacement.
Carlos Tevez, Manchester City, 2010
Long before the famous fall-out with Roberto Mancini in Munich, Carlos Tevez caused City a problem when he put in a transfer request in December 2010. His relationship with Mancini was already deteriorating and he missed his family at home in Argentina.
There was no firm offer on the table for Tevez, though, and City held firm. He soon recovered his best form, firing City to third in the table and winning the FA Cup . The following season, after his long exile, Tevez helped City win the title before finally leaving for Juventus in 2013 for £12m.
Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal, 2010
It was inevitable that Cesc Fabregas would return to Barcelona and his boyhood club pushed hard for him in 2010. Fabregas wanted to go, and Barcelona offered €35m for him, but Arsene Wenger did not want to lose his captain. Fabregas captained Arsenal very well, but a promising season collapsed after they lost the 2011 Carling Cup final to Birmingham City. Exits from the FA Cup and Champions League soon followed and that summer Fabregas was sold for an initial €29m. Samir Nasri went to Manchester City and Arsenal started the 2011-12 season in a state of collapse.
And times that teams should have sold
Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, 2013
Sir Alex Ferguson knew that Rooney was in decline when he left Manchester United in 2013, and tried to usher him out of the door. Chelsea were interested and Rooney saw the chance of one last big deal at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea bid as much as £25m for Rooney but new manager David Moyes did not want the instability of losing his top player and so United, from a position of weakness, gave Rooney a big new five-year deal.
But Ferguson was right: Rooney was in decline, and he struggled in the next four seasons under Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, before going to Everton as part of the Romelu Lukaku deal.
Diego Costa, Chelsea, 2017
By January 2017, Diego Costa’s goals had already fired Chelsea to the brink of the Premier League title. That was when Tianjin Quanjian stormed in with an offer of a £25m annual salary for the Brazilian striker. Costa wanted to go, argued with Antonio Conte and was dropped for a league game at Leicester City. Chelsea could have received a fee of €90m for Costa by then, a very good fee for a player whose head has been turned.
But Chelsea said no and Costa reluctantly played the second half of the season, not contributing anywhere near as much as he did before the offer from China. Then Conte told him he was not wanted at Chelsea anymore and now Chelsea are due to get half as much money for Costa as they would have done six months before.
Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City, 2016
After their unrepeatable title triumph in 2016, Leicester City were subject to the vultures coming in to sign their best players. N’Golo Kante went to Chelsea and Riyah Mahrez wanted to follow him out of Leicester to a top club. He wanted Real Madrid or Barcelona but the move never materialised.
Mahrez contributed little as Leicester slumped down the table last season and if he is sold this summer it will be for far less than Leicester would have got last year, as reigning PFA player of the year.
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