The Strangest Transfer Fees Ever Paid
Money. That is the be all and end all of football nowadays. Millions upon millions being spent on players, players that can be a revelation to a club and bring a legacy with them, sometimes it ends in failure though and players are shipped on just as quickly as they come in. What if though money is not exchanged? What if instead of money the transfer fee was paid in inanimate objects? This is a short list of strange transfers that did not involve the giving and receiving of money.
The first strange transfer fee comes from England, the player in question is former England defender Zat Knight. Perhaps known more for his Bolton days playing alongside Kevin Davies the transfer in question is between Fulham and non-league side Rushall Olympic. In 1999 Fulham approached the non-league club for the signing of Knight and came to an agreement of a free transfer. A bargain for a player that plied his trade in the Premier League for almost 300 games. Technically Knight was not a professionally contracted player at Rushall Olympic and therefore did not require a fee. What makes this transfer strange though is that the then Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayed decided to take it upon himself to send Rushall Olympic 30 tracksuits as a donation for the transfer.
Our next unusual transfer fee has us travelling back in time to 1921. Ernie Blenkinsop is the player involved and his move from Cudworth Village to Hull City is one that all Sunday league footballers dream of. Blenkinsop attracted a lot of attention in his final year at Cudworth, initially he was scouted by Doncaster Rovers but ultimately decided that Hull City was his preferred destination. Receiving a £10 singing on fee with £5 a week wages, in 1921 Blenkinsop was earning some big money. The transfer itself did see some money being exchanged, a huge sum at the time of £100 but that wasn’t all. A barrel of beer would also be sent to Cudworth as a bonus on top of the transfer fee. Safe to say the remaining players were pleased with the outcome.
Easily the most famous name on this list and the topic of our next strange transfer fee, Ian Wright. Yes, that Ian Wright, Premier League legend, Arsenal hero and Crystal Palace spearhead. It is the Crystal Palace transfer that sparks a point of interest. His move from semi-professional outfit Greenwich Borough came from nowhere but one that worked out for Wright and every club he represented. Before his £2.5 million move to Arsenal from Palace his initial transfer was simply a set of weightlifting equipment for Greenwich Borough.
In a similar vein to Zat Knight being transferred for a set of tracksuits out next player moved for a set of playing kits. England and Liverpool star John Barnes is the player in question. Before lighting up the league for Liverpool Barnes spent his career between 1981 and 1987 at Watford. A successful stint at Watford is what brought Liverpool knocking and £900k later he was wearing the famous red kit. Prior to Watford though Barnes found himself at Middlesex League club Sudbury Court, and after impressing and being successful in a trial game Watford made the offer and signed 79 capped England star for just a set of playing kits.
Another name associated with the Premier League is Collins John, the Fulham man who played almost a century of games for the Cottagers was once on the books of DES Nijverdal in the Netherlands. John impressed so much at Nijverdal that FC Twente from the Eredivisie came knocking. Eventually a deal between the two clubs was made and Collins John put pen to paper for a deal worth a set of encyclopaedias and related material for a local high school. Perhaps Twente had a read of the encyclopaedias before sending them to Nijverdal as they went on to sell John to Fulham for £600k.
The last three players on this list all have something in common, and it’s not what they were paid for with. In fact, all of these strange transfers occurred in Romania. Perhaps a coincidence but apparently Romanian football clubs don’t believe in paying with money. The first name is Christian Belgradean, a goalkeeper who has represented both Steaua Bucharest and CFR Cluj in the latter part of his career was once involved in a very strange transfer. Belgradean was once offered out for the small price of a gas pipe for the town of Lupeni. Minerul chairman and Lupeni town mayor decided that the gas pipe for his town was more important than receiving any transfer fee for his player.
The next story coming from Romania is that of Ion Radu. Whilst playing for Jiul Petrosani, Radu found himself embodied in a strange transfer deal. Unwanted at the club and with SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea sniffing about Jiul decided it was time to cash in on the player. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on who you ask, there was no cash involved in the deal. Instead Vâlcea decided that a shopping trip to the frozen meat section was a better deal than parting ways with cold hard cash. In total two tons of beef and pork was exchanged and Ion Radu found himself on the end of one of the strangest transfers to ever take place, although the end of season summer barbeque would be a fantastic day.
Finally, we come to our last player and yet again we remain in Romania and yet again we are talking about a transfer including meat. Marius Cioara was plying his trade for UT Arad when in 2006 Regal Hornia came in for him with a bid of 15kg worth of pork sausages. Whether sausages are legal tender or not in some parts of Romania this transfer occurred eight years after the transfer of Ion Radu and the similarities make you question if meat really a currency in Romania. However, unlike Radu’s transfer Cioara’s become shrouded in controversy. Cioara was so upset and angry with the transfer and what was being used as the fee the day after the transfer was completed, he retired from football and moved to Spain. The biggest disappointment though was that Regal Hornia were not reimbursed for their sausages.
Some very strange transfers there, from tracksuits to sausages, a far cry from the millions being spent today. Admittedly todays transfer fees do turn heads with how much clubs demand and there is always a story to talk about. However, personally, I would rather read about a transfer story where the selling club can have a barbeque afterwards with the fee they receive.
Written and Researched by BSc Cavan Campbell
