8 Biggest Swap Deals in Football History

Everyone loves a swap deal in theory, with transfer gossip columns loving to throw fanciful exchanges of players out in the ether. In practice, when they actually materialise, the clubs involved often end up in positions where they’re worse off than before the trade.

However, there have been examples of successful swap deals that have seen players involved on both sides make huge strides in their career trajectories. Infamous recent deals of such nature, involving the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexis Sanchez, Miralem Pjanic and Arthur Melo, have perhaps not been fruitful for any party.

However, successful swap deals have taken place, and with rumours suggesting Romelu Lukaku and Victor Osimhen could exchange places, below is a look at some of the biggest swap deals in history and attribute a winning club in each deal.

1

Ashley Cole and William Gallas

Winner: Chelsea

Chelsea paid Arsenal £5 million for Ashley Cole in 2006, in a deal that also involved William Gallas going the other way. Despite Gallas eventually establishing himself as Arsene Wenger’s skipper, the Frenchman ultimately lost the armband after an infamous sulk in the middle of the pitch, after the Gunners endured a damaging draw with Birmingham during the 2007/08 season. To rub salt in the wounds, the defender ended up joining rivals Tottenham after completely falling out of favour at the Emirates.

Meanwhile, Cole continued his upward trajectory towards becoming arguably the best left-back in world football. The England international won an array of honours with the Blues, including the Champions League, and retired a Stamford Bridge legend. Pretty clear who won in this swap deal.

2

Deco and Ricardo Quaresma

Winner: Barcelona

Another swap deal that has a clear winner, Barcelona traded Ricardo Quaresma for Deco in the summer of 2004, whilst paying the former’s recipients Porto £13.2 million in the process. Quaremsa’s talent had been seen as in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo as a youngster, but a failed move to Catalonia saw him regress in his career in a move back to his homeland. Two underwhelming seasons in the Primeira Liga saw him shipped out to Besiktas.

On the other hand, Deco lifted the Champions League at Camp Nou, in a silverware-laden spell in Spain. The Portuguese was a trailblazing midfielder for the dominant Barcelona side to follow, which consisted of the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

3

Alexis Sanchez and Herinkh Mkhitaryan

Winner: Arsenal

After very decisively being defeated in the Gallas/Cole battle, Arsenal just about came out on top in one of their next significant swap deals. Alexis Sanchez wanted to get away from north London in January 2018, and Manchester United wanted the Chilean. Thus Henrikh Mkhitaryan was used as a makeweight in the deal.

Sanchez had been a roaring success at the Emirates, but struggled in the north-west, scoring just five goals for the Red Devils after taking part in the famous piano video, whilst earning a purported £560,000 a week at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Mkhitaryan wasn’t exactly an overwhelmingly excellent addition to Wenger’s ensemble, but contributed nine goals and was on a significantly more modest wage.

4

David Luiz and Nemanja Matic

Winner: Chelsea

In a strange set of circumstances, Nemanja Matic and David Luiz traded places in 2011 but ended up playing together and lifting the Premier League title at Stamford Bridge in their second stints in west London. At the time of the trade, Matic was a young and unknown midfielder at Cobham, and Luiz was one of the most sought-after centre-backs in Europe.

While Benfica did extract value out of the deal, with the Serbian excelling over three years in Portugal, Chelsea had ultimately used the Lisbon-based side to develop the player, re-signing him in 2014 when he was ready for Premier League football. After a period with Paris Saint-Germain, Luiz returned to lead the Blues to success in 2017.

5

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o

Winner: Inter

It’s not often Pep Guardiola gets things wrong, but he almost certainly did here. Samuel Eto’o had propelled Barcelona to a Champions League triumph in 2009 but was exchanged for Zlatan Ibrahimovic almost immediately after.

On top of this, the Spaniards handed Inter Milan £35 million in a reckless bit of business. Eto’o went on to lead the Serie A side to a Champions League title, as well as several other domestic honours, while Ibrahimovic dramatically fell out with Guardiola, with the Swede leaving Camp Nou for AC Milan after just a season. The Barcelona move was arguably the only failed switch of his career.

6

Miralem Pjanic and Arthur Melo

Winner: Neither

Perhaps the biggest advertisement not to enact swap deals in the modern era, Miralem Pjanic joined Barcelona from Juventus, with Arthur Melo going the other way in 2020. Technically, Juventus paid £67 million for the Brazilian, while the Bosnian was sold for £51 million, outlandish fees that neither justified to any extent.

Pjanic made just 30 total appearances for the Catalan club and is now a free agent after spending two years in the UAE. As for Arthur, the technical midfielder has made just 42 Serie A appearances, never establishing himself as a regular in Turin, and is subsequently surplus to requirements with the Old Lady, but still under contract.

7

Jermaine Defoe and Bobby Zamora

Winner: Tottenham

After West Ham were relegated from the top flight in 2003, Jermaine Defoe was expected to leave east London, having scored eight Premier League goals that season. Instead, he had to wait a year for Tottenham to come calling, with the north Londoners offering £7 million plus Bobby Zamora in a deal that suited all parties.

In a genuinely successful exchange of players (for once), Defoe went on to score 143 goals for Spurs over two spells, making him the club’s seventh-highest scorer. Meanwhile, Zamora netted the winner in the Championship Play-Off Final in 2005, which saw the Hammers return to the summit of English football.

8

Julio Baptista and Jose Antonio Reyes

Winner: Real Madrid

In the only temporary swap deal on this list, Arsenal traded the late Jose Antonio Reyes for Real Madrid’s Julio Baptista for 12 months during the 2006/07 season. In a deal that worked out relatively well for both sides, Reyes netted seven goals from out wide, contributing to Los Blancos’ La Liga triumph.

As for Baptiste, the maverick number nine was essentially brought in to deputise the likes of Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie, yet still netted ten goals in all competitions. He also made an iconic contribution to Arsenal’s 6-3 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup, scoring four goals and missing a penalty in the win, proving to be the precursor for Andrei Arshavin’s mirrored achievement two years later.