10 Most Shocking Hijacked Transfer Deals In Football History
9. Alfredo Di Stefano To Barcelona
Alfredo do Stefano is recognised as one of the greatest footballers ever. And, until the likes of Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, he was Real Madrid's highest-ever scorer with 308 goals in 396 appearances.
The Argentinian legend spent 11 years with Los Blancos and helped them win five European Cups (now the Champions League), eight league titles and one Spanish Cup. Having passed away in 2014, he will forever be remembered as Madrid's best-ever player. But things could have turned out very differently, given he was supposed to join Barcelona.
When Di Stefano left River Plate in Argentina to join Millionarios in Colombia, the former retained his registration rights. According to a report from BBC, Barcelona entered negotiations with both South American clubs in 1953, but when the latter disagreed over certain aspects, they continued talks with River Plate, something which resulted in the player moving to Spain and even playing a pre-season game for them.
Barca's ignoring of Millionarios would prove costly, though, as complications allowed Madrid to swoop in and agree a deal with the forward, ultimately leading to their president being forced to resign as a direct result of the regrettable blunder.