Hit or Miss? The biggest swap deals in transfer history

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Swap deals are regarded as the urban myths of the transfer market.

When two clubs get into negotiations over signings, stories often follow that suggest an exchange of players may be on the cards to speed things along or tie everything into a neat little, easy-to-report package.

The regularity with which these arrangements are reported has led to fans becoming suspicious of their very existence, but they are real and more common than most may expect.

Below are 13 of the most high profile swaps to take place in football rated by how well both parties did out of their respective trades.

Andy Cole for Keith Gillespie

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Clubs involved: Manchester United and Newcastle United
When: January 1995
Fee: £7 million for Andy Cole, plus Keith Gillespie (source: Chronicle)

Kevin Keegan’s ambitions to lead the Toon Army on from being runners-up to Manchester United in 1994 were shattered when the champions set a new British record to sign up Newcastle’s star striker, Andy Cole, who had scored 34 goals in 40 games in the 1993/94 Premier League season.

Midfielder Keith Gillespie went the other way as part of the deal. While the firepower Cole provided may have brought five league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League back to Old Trafford, the winger part-exchanged to secure his services enjoyed a distinguished career at St. James’ Park, staying at Newcastle for three-and-a-half years.

Hit or miss? A far bigger hit for Manchester United but a good signing for Newcastle United.

Roberto Carlos for Ivan Zamorano

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Clubs involved: Real Madrid and Inter
When: Summer 1996
Fee: £1 million for Ivan Zamorano, plus Roberto Carlos

Former England manager Roy Hodgson has been derided for presiding over Carlos’ sale to Madrid in 1996 but at the time it didn’t look as bad a deal as it would later prove to be.

Zamorano had helped to fire Real to the La Liga title in 1995 with 28 goals in 38 games and was rated as one of the most exciting attackers in Europe, and only left Madrid due to the emergence of Raul. Unfortunately for Inter, while the Chilean wasn’t a flop in Milan, Carlos cemented his own reputation as the greatest left back in the world in Spain, if not of all-time.

Hit or miss? A hit for both parties, although Real got the superior player and the far better side of the deal.

Christian Vieri for Diego Simeone

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Clubs involved: Inter and Lazio
When: Summer 1999
Fee: £28 million for Christian Vieri, plus Diego Simeone (source: Independent)

A world record signing in 1999, Australia-born Vieri would go on to score 103 Serie A goals for Inter across six seasons, yet in spite of his impact as a finisher in the final third, the striker ended up with only a single honour to his name at the club – a Coppa Italia winner’s medal in 2005.

Simeone, meanwhile, proved to be far more than a makeweight at Lazio. Alongside his fellow Argentinian internationals Nestor Sensini, Matias Almeyda, Hernan Crespo and Juan Sebastian Veron, he won the double in 2000, denying Inter (and Vieri) glory in the final of the Coppa Italia. In 2002, he scored a goal against his former club on the final day of the season to wreck their hopes of winning Serie A.

Hit or miss? Vieri was a hit at Inter but Simeone enjoyed so much more success at Lazio – at his former employer’s expense.

Andrea Pirlo for Andres Guglielminpietro

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Clubs involved: Milan and Inter
When: Summer 2001
Fee: L35 billion for Andrea Pirlo, plus Andres Guglielminpietro (source: club’s official website – approximately £16 million at current exchange rates)

A blunder and a half. Inter didn’t seem to know what to do with the young Pirlo, who they had signed from Brescia in 1998. Following three seasons, which included two loan spells away to Reggina and his former team, they agreed to sell the midfielder to their cross-town rivals, in a part-exchange deal that saw Andres Guglielminpietro go the other way.

The Argentinian did little of note for three years at Inter while Pirlo established himself as the finest deep-lying playmaker of his generation for Milan, winning two Serie A titles and the Champions League on two occasions in addition to many other honours.

Hit or miss? Big win for Milan, huge error by Inter.

Clarence Seedorf for Francesco Coco

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Clubs involved: Milan and Inter
When: Summer 2002
Fee: Straight swap (source: club’s official website)

Not satisfied with letting Pirlo slip through their fingers in 2001, Inter compounded their error a year later as they allowed Seedorf to move to Milan in exchange for left-back Francesco Coco. The defender ended up playing more league games away on loan than he did for his parent club.

Seedorf on the other hand joined forces with Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Rui Costa, Massimo Ambrosini, and later Kaka, to arm Milan with one of the most talent-packed and complete midfields ever assembled, to win every single major honour available to an Italian club. Unlike the deal that took Pirlo to Milan, Inter didn’t even get a fee for Seedorf.

Hit or miss? Another one-sided deal in which Inter suffered while Milan secured an era-defining talent.

Fabio Cannavaro for Fabian Carini

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Clubs involved: Juventus and Inter
When: Summer 2004
Fee: €10 million for Fabio Cannavaro, plus Fabian Carini (source: CNN – approximately £15 million at historical exchange rates)

Following two years with Inter, Cannavaro moved to Juventus in 2004 to be reunited with Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon, his former team mates at Parma. Together, they formed the foundation for two Serie A title wins, although both victories were later cancelled out due to the Calciopoli scandal.

Juventus reserve goalkeeper Carini went the other way, and while he may have only been an add-on to an already large deal to bring Cannavaro to Turin, comparing the two players and their respective impacts at either club, there’s no way that Inter don’t come off looking worse. After all, the defender was tipped to be part of a grand rebuilding project upon his arrival in Milan, rather than an asset to be sold to strengthen a title rival.

Hit or miss? Hit for Juventus, miss for Inter.

Michael Owen for Antonio Nunez

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Clubs involved: Real Madrid and Liverpool
When: Summer 2004
Fee: £8 million for Michael Owen, plus Antonio Nunez (source: BBC Sport)

As a former winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2001, Owen was signed as a new Galactico by Real in 2004, in a part-exchange deal that saw Liverpool sign midfielder Antonio Nunez – a player that never seemed to win over his fellow professionals at Anfield, let alone the fans.

Yet the Englishman lasted only a year in Madrid before returning to the Premier League with Newcastle. In a squad already full of big names, he was relegated to being a super sub at the Bernabeu, and while he was effective in that role, it was knock down from his former position as a key player on Merseyside. In that context, his record of 13 goals in 36 La Liga games is far more impressive for a forward of his purported calibre.

Hit or miss? A qualified success for Real and a raw deal for Liverpool. Hit and miss.

Ashley Cole for William Gallas

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Clubs involved: Chelsea and Arsenal
When: Summer 2006
Fee: £5 million for Ashley Cole, plus William Gallas (source: BBC Sport)

In one of the most controversial transfers in English football history, Ashley Cole, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea were all found guilty of discussing a move hind Arsenal’s back in 2005. The left-back still got his own way in spite of the Blues being fined for tapping up and left Highbury for Stamford Bridge in 2006.

He won absolutely everything in west London, including both the Champions League and Europa League. William Gallas was the player sent the other way in the deal to take the Englishman to Chelsea, and in between fall outs with teammates and public strops on the pitch, the Frenchman became a problem rather than a solution to Arsenal’s issues in defence.

Hit or miss? Huge hit for Chelsea and a massive loss for Arsenal.

Jose Antonio Reyes for Julio Baptista

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Clubs involved: Real Madrid and Arsenal
When: Summer 2006
Fee: loan swap (source: BBC Sport)

One summer, two swaps deals for Arsenal, and a very unorthodox arrangement that saw Reyes and Baptista traded in a player-for-player loan agreement. The Brazilian was a runner-up in the 2006 League Cup final with the Gunners. Reyes won La Liga as a squad player but had his moments.

Neither player did enough to stick around once their temporary deals had run down. In 2007, Reyes was sold to Atletico Madrid. A year later Baptista joined Roma.

Hit or miss? Double fault. Not exactly a win for either side.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Samuel Eto’o

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Clubs involved: Barcelona and Inter
When: Summer 2009
Fee: £40 million for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, plus Samuel Eto’o (source: BBC Sport)

After beating Manchester United in the final of the 2008 Champions League to complete the first treble in the history of Spanish football, the question was how Pep Guardiola could improve upon a team that already seemed so close to perfection.

On paper, Ibrahimovic looked like the perfect Plan B who could add something different to their attack. A six-foot-five target man, but one with exceptional dexterity and technical skill, it seemed like the perfect match to take the Catalans in a new, more dangerous direction.

Yet his arrival came at the cost of Samuel Eto’o, an attacker who had been key to the treble win in spite of coming close to leaving the Camp Nou in 2008, in addition to a huge transfer fee paid out to the Serie A club, who knocked Guardiola’s side out in the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010.

Playing in a more defensive wide role under the auspices of Inter manager Mourinho, Eto’o played his part in bringing his former club down as they clinched their own treble, the first in the history of Italian football. Ibrahimovic fell out with the other big personalities in Barcelona and moved back to the San Siro in 2010 with Milan.

Hit or miss? Inter scored a big hit as Barcelona made a miss.

Diego Milito for Robert Acquafresca

Thiago Motta for Francesco Bolzoni

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Clubs involved: Inter and Genoa
When: Summer 2009
Fee: €18 million combined for Diego Milito and Thiago Motta, plus Robert Acquafresca, Francesco Bolzoni and academy players (source: club’s official website on Milito and Motta – approximately £21 million according to historical exchange rates)

A double swap deal – now we’re talking – that saw striker Diego Milito and midfielder Thiago Motta move from Genoa following stand-out seasons that powered the north Italian side to fifth in Serie A. Inter sent forward Acquafresca, midfielder Bolzoni and a clutch of academy players the other way to rubber stamp the switch.

It proved to be a masterstroke. Milito had the season of his life under Mourinho to fire his new club to the treble, and winning recognition in the nominations for the Ballon d’Or, while Motta became one of the Portuguese’s most trusted performers in the middle of the pitch.

No matter how much money Genoa received in the transfer, they were never going to have any hope of replacing two footballers of the quality they possessed before Inter came knocking. Acquafresca and Bolzoni were good players but they simply weren’t good enough.

Hit or miss? Milito and Motta were two gigantic hits for Inter. It was always going to be a miss for Genoa.

David Luiz for Nemanja Matic

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Clubs involved: Chelsea and Benfica
When: January 2011
Fee: £21.3 million for David Luiz, plus Nemanja Matic (source: BBC Sport)

Hyped as the next big talent at the back in Brazilian football, Luiz arrived amid great fanfare at Stamford Bridge in 2011, with young Serbian winger Nemanja Matic moving to Benfica in a part-exchange deal.

The former Chelsea academy prospect returned to Stamford Bridge in January 2014, shortly before Luiz was sold for a record-breaking fee to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2014, only to make his own return in 2016.

While he was away, the Blues won the Premier League with Matic in a defensive midfield role under Jose Mourinho. In 2017, they took the title with Luiz back in the squad, playing behind the Serbian as the centre-piece of Antonio Conte’s back three.

All these twists and turns ultimately ended up with the Blues winning big. Had it not been for his time at Benfica, during which Matic was moved into a deeper role, he may never have become the player Chelsea needed later in his career.

Hit or miss? In the end, a win for both sides, but not without a few complicated qualifications.

Fernando Torres for Alessio Cerci

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Clubs involved: Atletico Madrid and Milan
When: January 2015
Fee: loan deal – Fernando Torres signed a permanet contract on a free at the end of his contract with Milan.

An emotional homecoming that eventually made sense for Diego Simeone’s side as Torres moved back to Atletico Madrid, eight-and-a-half years after leaving the club to join Liverpool in 2007.

Stripped of the explosive pace and finishing ability that once made him one of Europe’s most feared front man, he played a more supportive role to lead the line for his old club, as Cerci went to Milan on loan – scoring one goal in 29 games – before retiring with Genoa in 2016.

Hit or miss? Hit for Torres and Atletico. Minor miss for Milan and Cerci.

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