The transfer window ended on September 1, 2022, at 11 pm. Clubs were busy with signing new players and letting go of old ones. Barcelona and Arsenal were the most effective in the window, while some other clubs failed to sign new players.
Drama, rejection, and surprise are all part of the transfer window. Some clubs failed to sign their top targets while others did. These are the top ten failed transfer deals in the 2022/23 transfer window.
1. Douglas Luiz To Arsenal
Arsenal made a late bid of €25 million to sign the Brazilian from Aston Villa. The London side made two other improved consecutive deals to sign him, but Aston Villa insisted he was not for sale.
After Thomas Partey’s injury, the club sees Luis as a better replacement, but Steven Gerrard sees him as part of his plan. The Brazilian wanted to force the deal, but it was too late. Arsenal might come back for him in January
2. Frenkie De Jong – Manchester United
De Jong insisted he doesn’t want to play for any other club apart from his dream club, Barcelona. Manchester United and Barcelona agreed on a deal in May 2022, but the Dutch player made clear his intention.
Manchester United’s sporting director tried everything to make this happen, but the player’s decision superseded United and Barca’s decision. De Jong also didn’t want to leave Barcelona because of the deferred wages of €17 million that the Spanish giants were owing him.
The player also told the club, he has no intention to reduce his salary and is ready to play if he is being called by the manager. It was reported that Manchester United will come with a better bid in January
3. Jules Kounde to Chelsea
The French defender confirmed he had received an offer from Chelsea but waited for a materialist offer from Barcelona. Last season, Kounde agreed a personal deal with Chelsea.
Chelsea sent a bid to Sevilla last month, but the Spanish side waited for Barcelona to come up with a better bid to sign the defender.
He made a statement during the unveiling that his mind has always been set on Barcelona because it is a big club with different ambitions
4. Bernardo Silva to Barcelona
In one of the press conferences of Pep Guardiola, Pep insisted that Silva would play for another season with Manchester City.
Barcelona tried to sign him on the final day of the transfer window as it was reported that Silva agent Jorge Mendes was at Barcelona on September 1, 2022.
Silva stated he never received any offer from any club, even though he was linked to a move to Paris Saint-German.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo to Napoli
In the race to sign for a Champions League club, Ronaldo was offered to Napoli. Napoli stated the conditions needed for them to sign Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United.
The Italian giants want Manchester United to pay 80% of Ronaldo’s salary and put Victor Osimhen on loan to Manchester United with a buyback clause of €100 million. That was a crazy deal for Manchester United to accept.
6. Raphinha to Chelsea
Leeds United’s owner, Andrea Radrizzani, apologized to Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and expressed regret over the Raphinha deal falling through.
The Chelsea offer was already accepted by Leeds United, which created a lot of excitement among the Chelsea fans, who were later disappointed by the Barcelona bid.
Barcelona hijacked the deal from Chelsea after the Blues failed to agree personal terms with the Brazilian. Raphinha and his agent, Deco, delayed the deal to secure his dream move to Barcelona.
7. Michy Batshuayi to Nottingham Forest
This season, Nottingham Forest have signed 21 players, but couldn’t sign Batshuayi to make it 22 because documents were not sent on time to Chelsea.
According to Futballnews, the deal could not materialize in the final hour of the transfer window.
However, he can still secure a move to the Turkish league, which still has its transfer window open. it has been announced that the Belgian has left Chelsea as he awaits a new home.
8. Adrien Rabiot to Manchester United
Rabiot was widely expected to join Manchester United after the end of the transfer window. However, the deal collapsed after Rabiot demanded that he must be among the highest-paid players at Manchester United.
Manchester United went for Casemiro, who later joined them this season.
9. Kylian Mbappe deal to Real Madrid
Mbappe snubbed Real Madrid to stay at Paris Saint-Germain on a three-year contract. PSG rejected a series of offers from Real Madrid as they insisted that their star striker was not for sale at any price.
Mbappe personally contacted Real Madrid President Florentino Perez to inform him about the decision.
After the agreement, La Liga issued a statement announcing they would take legal action against PSG.
10. Nathan Ake to Chelsea
Chelsea were interested in bringing back Nathan Ake to Stamford Bridge. However, Manchester City and Chelsea failed to agree on a fee. Guardiola valued the player more.
Chelsea went on to sign Wesley Fofana from Leicester City and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.