World Football
HomeScoresTransfer RumorsUSWNTUSMNTPremier LeagueChampions LeagueLa LigaSerie ABundesligaMLSFIFA Club World Cup
Featured Video
Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢

World Football: A Summer For Sagas

Shyam ParthasarathiJun 25, 2008

This summer will probably be remembered for the longest-running transfer sagas ever.

Generally, you would associate one of those sagas with only one player in the summer, but I've found five (and there are probably more) of the biggest unfinished transfers (which may or may not get concluded) of this summer:

Samir Nasri (Marseille to Arsenal): Samir Nasri was a player who was largely unknown till a couple of months back—today, pretty much every Arsenal fan knows him even though he hasn't "officially" signed yet.

TOP NEWS

Real Madrid CF v Girona FC - LaLiga EA Sports
Real Betis V Real Madrid - Laliga Ea Sports

One day his Web site says that he has signed for Arsenal, the next day it says that it was a premature announcement. One thing is for sure—his arrival at Arsenal will not be premature!

Alexander Hleb (Arsenal to Barcelona): Alexander Hleb is probably the most hated player in Arsenal—by Arsenal fans! He has made his agent do all his dirty laundry and has remained quiet all along.

Will Hleb move to Barcelona? Or maybe, Bayern Munich? Or maybe not move at all? I honestly don't know, and you know what? I've lost the will to care!

Ronaldinho (Barcelona to AC Milan, Manchester City, or Chelsea): This is possibly the longest of all the transfer sagas this summer. Ronaldinho was clearly going to leave Barcelona this summer, but the question was, where to? That question still doesn't seem to have a very clear answer.

Jo (CSKA Moscow to Manchester City): This is perhaps the least publicised transfer saga of the lot. The press seemed to be sure of his arrival as long back as the last weekend of the English season—but the deal seems to have hit a snag with Jo being owned by a third party. This deal could also qualify as the least likely to happen!

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United to Real Madrid): Ever since the Champions League final, Cristiano Ronaldo has kept quiet about his future.

He has continually stated that he will come out with a statement about his future, while his Portuguese coach (ex-coach, now), Ramon Calderon, and Arvalo Arbeloa all seem to be suggesting that he should leave Manchester United and join Real Madrid.

Will he? Will Sir Alex Ferguson's persuasive powers be successful?

I'm sure that I've missed out a couple, but these were the ones that came to mind immediately.

Which transfer do you think is the biggest "saga" of them all? Or does the press' presence make every deal a saga?

Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢

TOP NEWS

Real Madrid CF v Girona FC - LaLiga EA Sports
Real Betis V Real Madrid - Laliga Ea Sports
United States v Japan - International Friendly
FIFA World Cup 2026 Venues - New York New Jersey Stadium

TRENDING ON B/R