How to force a transfer - "I’ll tear my cruciate ligaments"
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 21.08.25. | 12:38
It often happens that players want to leave a club that refuses to let them go, so they are sometimes forced to take extreme measures
Footballers are willing to go to all sorts of lengths to get what they want – most often a transfer. It’s not unusual for them to skip pre-season tours, as we saw with Viktor Gyokeres, who forced through a move to Arsenal.
Benjamin Sesko stopped training for several days and even skipped matches before his transfer to Manchester United was made official. That case went relatively smoothly, but tensions exist between Alexander Isak and Newcastle, as well as Ademola Lookman and Atalanta.
Still, the most bizarre story comes from Spain: Leganes player Juan Cruz asked his club to grant him paternity leave?! Yes, that happened…
🚨 Juan Cruz is requesting paternity leave to force a move from Leganes!
— SleeperFootballNews (@SleeperFootNews) August 20, 2025
The soon-to-be father is valued at £8m, likely pricing him out of a move from the relegated side. ❌
Rayo, Mallorca, Osasuna, Celta Vigo and Alaves are amongst the interested parties! 😮 pic.twitter.com/VKMCzdWfCn
His case prompted Spanish daily Marca to recall some of the strangest excuses players have used to demand transfers – from staged incidents to failed set-ups. In the summer of 1994, fresh from winning the World Cup, Romario refused to return to Barcelona because he needed an extended holiday. He gave himself the right to rest three extra weeks, claiming he longed for the beaches of Brazil. By January, he was gone to Flamengo.
Romario missing training before the 1994 World Cup because he wanted to play volleyball on the beach with his friends. Then winning the Golden Ball as Brazil won the World Cup.
— Kyama ⚽ (@ElijahKyama_) January 3, 2024
Scoring goals at Barca so he could go to the carnival in Brazil.
Partying all night before a match. https://t.co/rjedFHPqgw pic.twitter.com/EHqwyzvW01
Flight delays as an excuse or outright refusals to go on pre-season tours have been common. Atletico Madrid went through it with Diego Costa; Borussia Dortmund with Ousmane Dembele, who pushed through a move to Barcelona; the same thing happened with Tottenham and Gareth Bale once Real Madrid entered the picture; even Luka Modric once refused to go on pre-season with Spurs.
Then there’s the wild story of Claude Makelele back when Real Madrid wanted him while he was at Celta Vigo: he smashed up his own car and, together with his agent, filed a false police report claiming he’d been attacked by fans.
The same summer, Real offer a huge deal for Celta Vigo midfielder Claude Makelele.
— The Upshot podcast (@UpshotTowers) June 8, 2023
In a bid to force through the move, Claude gets his agent to smash up his car, and they file a police report claiming it was attacked by Celta fans.
Horrified, the club let him join Real. pic.twitter.com/v8X95QIwZz
William Gallas, when clashing with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, allegedly threatened to score an own goal if he wasn’t allowed to leave. He later moved to Arsenal, though he denied making such threats.
🚨William Galas own goal claim
— CFC Rider (@Riider_Spinky) February 19, 2025
Gallas allegedly refused to play in the semi-final vs Liverpool and the 1st game of the season against Man City.
Club claimed he threatened to score an own goal, get sent off, or make deliberate mistakes if forced to play against Man City…….. pic.twitter.com/mW8GxIKxoW
Dimitri Payet did everything to escape West Ham and was brutally direct: “If they don’t sell me, I’ll tear my cruciate ligaments. I have the right to decide what my future will look like.”
Faustino Asprilla once asked to leave Parma for meteorological reasons – apparently, it was too cold for him. Hulk justified his departure from Zenit by saying his children should have the opportunity to learn Chinese.
There have been bizarre cases in the past – and there will be more in the future.
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