In the Kylian Mbappé file, the press struggles to guess the time and place chosen by the player to announce his decision: to stay at PSG or to sign at Real Madrid. Sunday live on the TF1 show, Téléfoot? Microphone in hand, in front of his fans after a last match at the Parc des Princes? One certainty,he French world champion will put an end to the suspense this weekend.
Before him, other sports stars had already distinguished themselves by ending the soap opera of their transfer in an original way. The American basketball player LeBron James had notably revealed himself his transfer to the Miami Heat live in front of ten million viewers in a special broadcast. To the approach of the outcome of the soap opera Mbappé, franceinfo: sport has listed the most singular transfer announcements in the history of football.
Messi’s arrival at Le Bourget
Around 3:20 p.m. on August 10, 2021, a photo seals the arrival of the Argentine star at PSG. All smiles at the window of the Le Bourget airport terminal, a “here it’s Paris” t-shirt on his shoulders, Lionel Messi greets the hundreds of ultra Parisians who made the trip. By the way, he announces to the whole world that he joins the club of the capital.
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This copiously publicized arrival put an end to weeks of failed negotiations between the man who is nicknamed “the pulla” and his lifelong club, FC Barcelona. Especially since at the time of his landing, the full extent of the contract that binds the Argentinian to PSG had not yet been revealed. Messi will not be officially presented to the public the next day at a press conference. Never mind, history will surely remember that a photo on the balcony of an airport served to formalize one of the biggest transfers in the history of the League 1.
The tweet that sends Ronaldo to Juve
“Official Communication: Cristiano Ronaldo“. In four words, Real Madrid formalized the departure of its star on July 10, 2018. A tweet accompanied by a statement, also laconic, which soberly thanked the player for his record with the Madrid club. In the aftermath, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus of Turin for the sum of 117 million euros, a record sum for a player over 30 years old.
Official Communication: Cristiano Ronaldo.
https://t.co/nJiousygtF#Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/JwQqrrk0Wc
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) July 10, 2018
This famous tweet, which today has nearly 115,000 likes, punctuated months of fruitless talks between the Portuguese and his club. A few months later, the striker returned to the conditions of his departure from Real Madrid by pointing out that he had felt a lack of support from Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid. He entrusted to France Soccer : “The truth is that the president wanted me, but at the same time, he let me know that my departure would not be a problem. After discussions between the player and his management, the case was settled in 35 characters.
A 33-minute documentary for Griezmann
The future of Antoine Griezmann was one of the soap operas that animated the summer of 2018. But the number 7 of the France team did not go through the classic route of the sports press to announce his future. Courted by FC Barcelona, he invited his fans to watch the Spanish channel “0” from Movistarthe evening of the launch of the 2018 World Cup, to inform them of his decision.
“He decidido quedarme”. @AntoGriezmann #Decision pic.twitter.com/ipo5RGNifs
—Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarPlus) June 14, 2018
To TV that night, a documentary titled “decision“, echoing the name of basketball player LeBron James’ special”the decision“, 33 minutes long. Mocked on social networks because of the exacerbated staging of the life of the International, the mini-film traces the two months when the French had to make his choice, his two months of hesitation, of talks, which ended in his choice to stay at Atlético de Madrid.
Zlatan’s ad in the LA Times
The transfer of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the Los Angeles Galaxy was also announced in an unconventional way. Left free by Manchester United, the arrival of the Swedish giant was confirmed on March 23, 2018 by an advertising page published in the sports supplement of the Los Angeles Timesa California newspaper.
“Dear Los Angeles, You’re welcome. Zlatan Ibrahimovic #9, LA Galaxy” – the advert taken out in today’s LA Times pic.twitter.com/bjrbrkdAqq
—Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) March 23, 2018
“Dear Los Angeles, please“, simply indicates the text of this advertisement published by the club of the North American Football Championship (MLS), with the signature of Ibrahimivic and the logo of the club. considered to have an inflated ego. Following this enigmatic announcement, Zlatan played two seasons for the Californian club.
Farewell to Jean-Pierre Papin at the Vélodrome
Announcing his departure at the end of the 38th day in front of his supporters, Papin has already done so. In 1992, in front of the 45,000 supporters of the Vélodrome stadium, the 1991 Golden Ball formalized its departure just after a 2-0 victory against Cannes.
At the risk of disrupting the celebration of the championship title recently won by OM, the striker took the microphone, alone in the middle of the lawn, to confirm his transfer to AC Milan. “I owe you a lot, certainly everything. (…) I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart and especially that I will never forget you“, declares a “JPP” on the verge of tears, under the ovations of the public. A sequence that has remained forever in the history of the club.