Five players changing clubs more than once in single transfer window

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Bengaluru, Sep 7: We experienced a pretty eventful transfer window this time out which had all the ingredients to excite the fans. A number of big deals took place over the course of the summer while there were some surprise moves as well.

The 22-year-old Brazilian international right-back Emerson Royal was subject to a rather bizarre transfer scenario as he switched clubs twice over the summer. The attacking full-back began this summer expecting to be at the Camp Nou for the next three seasons after the Catalan giants opted to exercise the £5million clause in his contract to sign him from La Liga rivals Real Betis.

However, dream to play for the Blaugrana was soon shattered with Barcelona's financial problems making them sell the 22-year-old just three months after his acquisition. Having made just three appearances for the Catalans during his time at Camp Nou, he has now joined Tottenham in a £25.7m deal on the deadline day.

Emerson is not the first player, however, to have undergone such a situation. Here, we will take a look at a few more players who have been transferred more than once during one transfer window.

Martin Demichelis (Malaga to Atletico Madrid to Man City, 2014)

Former Argentine defender encountered a similar situation back in 2014. Having enjoyed his time at Malaga, the defender was snapped up by Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid on a free transfer. However, just two months into his time in the Spanish capital, his former Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini came calling for him. Manchester City splashed just over £4 million for the player who was acquired for nothing by Atletico Madrid just a few weeks ago.

Benik Afobe (Bournemouth to Wolves to Stoke, 2018)

Regarded as a potential superstar for the future during his Arsenal days, Afobe has never really managed to live up to his immense potential. Following his up and down form at Bournemouth, he was loaned out to his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018 and played a key role in earning promotion for Nuno Espirito Santo's side.

Wolves then splashed out £10 million to sign the striker permanently ahead of their first season back in the Premier League. However, he was soon sold to Stoke City on a £12 million deal.

Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool to Bolton to Manchester City, 2006)

Dietmar Hamann acquired a legendary status at Anfield during his time at Liverpool and his exit from the club also grabbed headlines. Just after a year after that iconic Champions League triumph in Istanbul, Hamman left the Reds on a free transfer and signed a pre-contract with Bolton Wanderers in June.

The former German international was due to link-up with the club in the middle of July, but changed his heart soon with Manchester City expressing their interest in him. He was announced as a Manchester City player on July 12, with City paying Bolton £400,000 in compensation.

Bebe (Estrela to Vitoria de Guimaraes to Manchester United, 2010)

Bebe was one of the very few poor signings Sir Alex Ferguson made during his golden tenure at Manchester United. The Portuguese winger, then dubbed as the 'Next Cristiano Ronaldo', started to a name for himself in his homeland and Manchester United took notice of him but did not make a move.

Bebe was snapped up on a free transfer by top-flight Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes from then third-tier side Estrela da Amadora and he made a solid immediate impact at the club. After scoring five goals in six pre-season matches for Vitoria, his release clause was raised from £2.5m to £7.4m and United decided to trigger that. And, the rest they say is history.

Marc Cucurella (Barcelona to Eibar to Barcelona to Getafe, 2019)

Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion have snapped up Spanish defender Marc Cucurella from Spanish side Getafe this summer, but the left-back's career has been another crazy rollercoaster ride. In the summer of 2019, Cucurella had just completed a successful loan spell at La Liga side Eibar, who made the deal permanent by exercising a £1.7m buy-out clause in his contract.

However, Barcelona included a buy-back clause of £3.5m in his contract which could be activated at any time and surprisingly activated that just 16 days later. He did join Barcelona back but was soon loaned out to Getafe with the option to make the deal permanent for £5m at the end of the 2019-20 season and Getafe did exactly that.