Transfer requests in football are extremely common. This formal piece of communication between players and clubs has been the cause of some legendary negotiating standoffs and record-breaking deals.
These situations can go one of two ways. Clubs can either go in search of a suitor for the departing player, or they can keep the wantaway individual against their wishes, leading to a potentially awkward atmosphere which could impact performances.
There are different ways to deal with this scenario, but there have been instances in the past where players have not turned up to training or refused to play in games in an attempt to force the club’s hand and sell them as soon as possible. Here is a guide to the exit strategy for players wanting to move away from their current club.
What is a Transfer Request?
Formal come-and-get-me plea
Simply put, a transfer request is a way for a player to formally ask to leave a club. This may be because they are not happy or want to move to a bigger team or country to further their career. A transfer request can take the form of a physical document. Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time, infamously used the archaic postal service of a burofax to officially inform Barcelona’s president about his desire to leave the club in 2020.
Wigan Athletic’s Pascal Chimbonda took matters into his own hands – quite literally – when delivering his transfer request to Paul Jewell at the end of the 2005/06 campaign. Before even changing out of his kit following a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal, the French defender handed his manager a formal letter signalling his intent to move on to pastures new. “To say I was livid was an understatement,” Jewell later seethed. Chimbonda eventually secured a move to Tottenham Hotspur that summer.
Famous Premier League Transfer Requests
Harry Kane and Philippe Coutinho eventually got their way
The most memorable example of a transfer request in recent years was Harry Kane’s desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur, made public back in 2021. With three years left on his contract and still trophyless after some near misses in the Premier League and Champions League, Kane went public with his desire to leave the club. In May 2021, he handed in a transfer request and even went on strike for the first two days of pre-season due to Daniel Levy’s reluctance to sell to Manchester City.
On this occasion, Kane was unsuccessful in forcing a move away, but two years later, ahead of the 2023/24 season, he handed in a transfer request again. He was granted his move this time, with only one year left on his contract. Bayern Munich and Spurs agreed to a £86.4m fee, plus add-ons for the English talisman.
In the summer of 2017, Barcelona tested Liverpool’s resolve with multiple bids for their star man Philippe Coutinho. Liverpool rejected these offers and released a public statement saying that the Brazilian was not for sale. In response, Coutinho sent a transfer request to the club. In fact, a family member spoke to Sky Sports News and said:
“Philippe has tried very hard to find an amicable solution to this situation but to no avail. He has tremendous love for the club and its fans, but like Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez have pointed out in the past, Liverpool does not let its players leave on amicable terms.”
This request was originally rejected by Liverpool but in January 2018, they agreed to a £142m transfer with Barcelona. Both parties had secured what they wanted from the deal with the Merseyside club receiving the largest fee in Premier League history for a prized asset and Coutinho making his dream move to Spain.
In the generation before Kane and Coutinho’s exploits, Wayne Rooney set the trend for transfer tantrums when a flurry of reports emerged detailing his request to move on from Manchester United in 2010. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that he was left “dumbfounded”. Rooney later clarified that he had never submitted anything in writing, but had gone to his manager and said: “If you’re not going to play me it might be better if I moved on.”
Extreme Examples of Transfer Requests
Sometimes a polite request is not enough
Robbie Savage took it into his own hands in January 2005 when he wanted to leave Birmingham City for Blackburn Rovers. Moving beyond a formal request, the midfielder admitted that he “deliberately played badly” in a game against Newcastle United. “I needed to force the issue,” he reasoned.
Savage even asked a friend at Sky TV to film him running on his own at the training ground to make it look like he had been ostracised from the first-team squad. Although this wasn’t true, it was reported by news outlets, and he was eventually able to secure his move to Ewood Park. Savage was keen on playing for fellow Welshman Mark Hughes and believed his actions were essential to forcing Birmingham into negotiations.
William Gallas is another example of a player going to extreme measures to secure a move. In the summer of 2006, he refused to sign a new deal with Chelsea. The French defender had one year left on his contract and told the Blues that he would score an own goal or get sent off if they didn’t sanction his transfer to another club according to a statement released by Chelsea.
Gallas denied the claims that he had made an own-goal threat and secured a move to Arsenal in September 2006. Whether the accusations made by Chelsea are true or not is still not known, but it was evident that the defender was pulling hard for a transfer away from the club.
Transfer Requests Gone Wrong
Not every wantaway player gets their move
Transfer requests don’t always end with the desired outcome for players. Gareth Barry tried to force a move away from Aston Villa to join Liverpool in 2008 by giving an ill-advised interview to the News of the World. The record Premier League appearance maker declared his desire to join the Reds and criticised Villa manager, Martin O’Neill. Barry was then banned from the training ground for a fortnight and fined two weeks’ wages before a proposed move to Anfield collapsed.
Yohan Cabaye’s failed move to Arsenal was different to Barry’s transfer request to join Liverpool. The French midfielder went on strike at Newcastle and was intent on joining the Gunners in the summer of 2013. An agreement was reportedly made between the clubs, but a late change of heart from Arsene Wenger meant the deal fell through. In the aftermath of the failed transfer, Cabaye blamed Newcastle’s director of football, Joe Kinnear. He said:
“The only person who can explain what happened is Joe Kinnear. If he is honest, he will tell it. Otherwise, it will not get out of my mouth.
“Was my failed transfer to Arsenal difficult to swallow? At first, yes, but you have to quickly get focused again because if you go on thinking about it you have a grudge against a lot of people and that is useless.”
Information gathered from Sky Sports, The Athletic, Transfermarkt and Sports Mole.