The Newcastle striker is at the centre of this summer's longest-running tug of war in a throwback to some epic transfer tussles of the past
Newcastle wantaway Alexander Isak is pulling out all the textbook moves to force a switch to Liverpool; having told the Magpies he wants to leave, the striker has been left out of a friendly, pulled out of the pre-season tour and, of course, gone 'AWOL'. It's a throwback to some of the great transfer sagas of years gone by, and it seems to have some way to run yet.
A matter of days after Liverpool made their interest clear, Isak was sent home ahead of Newcastle's friendly defeat to Celtic having been unsettled by the intense speculation surrounding him. Then, after Al-Hilal joined the race for his signature, the striker was left out of the Magpies' pre-season tour to Asia due to a supposed thigh injury.
Reports that he had gone 'AWOL' soon followed amid the Tynesiders' refusal to sell, and it emerged that he had been training at former club Real Sociedad in Spain, rather than at Newcastle's facilities, in a bid to get back to full fitness. Isak wants to join the Reds, and it's even been claimed that he could even take the 'nuclear' option of unilaterally terminating his contract to make the move happen.
This one's not over yet, but how does the saga centring around Isak compare to some of the most infamous in football history? GOAL runs through the top 10:
Getty Images SportLuis Figo (Barcelona to Real Madrid)
Few possess the cojones to cross the fierce Clasico divide, but that's exactly what Luis Figo did as he became the most expensive player ever in 2000 when swapping Barcelona for Real Madrid, supposedly due to feeling undervalued at Camp Nou and displeasure with the way the Blaugrana were being run at the time.
The perceived betrayal drew a vitriolic response from the Barcelona faithful, who infamously greeted the Portuguese icon by launching a pig's head at him as he attempted to take a corner on his first return to Camp Nou in 2002. Figo will probably feel he had the last laugh, though, claiming the Ballon d'Or in 2001 and going on to win the Champions League in 2002, cementing his status as a great of the game.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportSteven Gerrard (Liverpool to Chelsea or Real Madrid)
In 2005, it seemed for all the world that Jose Mourinho had somehow managed to convince Steven Gerrard to ditch his boyhood club and join his revolution at Stamford Bridge. Having failed to sign him the previous year, Chelsea went again with a £32 million offer that summer after the midfielder flirted with an exit mid-season, with furious Liverpool fans even burning his shirt and graffitiing 'traitor' at the Reds' training ground.
That bid was rejected, with Real Madrid in the race too, and Gerrard, then 25, went to the lengths of handing in a transfer request despite a club-record £100,000-per-week contract offer being on the table. "This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make," he said at the time.
However, just 24 hours later, he dramatically U-turned on his decision and penned a new deal at Anfield, with the club apologising for how talks had initially been conducted.
Getty ImagesViktor Gyokeres (Sporting CP to Arsenal)
The other Swedish striker at the heart of a transfer saga this summer, Viktor Gyokeres was always expected to make a big-money move once the window opened after another prolific season with Sporting CP in Portugal – the only question was where and when.
Despite widespread interest, it became clear that the 'where' would be Arsenal, but the Gunners and the player himself had to fight tooth and nail to make the deal happen. Gyokeres became embroiled in a bitter war of words with the Sporting president, who had apparently reneged on a gentleman's agreement that he could leave, and went AWOL when pre-season training began. Sporting also quibbled over add-ons, but Arsenal eventually landed him for £64m ($86m).
AFPKaka (AC Milan to Man City)
In the first transfer window following their Abu Dhabi-backed takeover in September 2008, Manchester City were determined to make AC Milan superstar Kaka the poster boy of their project. They reportedly tabled what was an unprecedented, world-record sum worth £100m, as well as an incredibly lucrative £500,000-per-week contract. However, the Brazilian ultimately rejected City's riches after a vociferous reaction from Milan fans to his potential departure.
He said at the time: "At the moment I don't want to change anything. All the messages that I received said to choose with the heart and I think in the end that has been the decision. It is absolutely not about money."
The Rossoneri's late owner, Silvio Berlusconi, added: "Kaka has refused the offer from Manchester City, giving privilege to Milan, his companions and his fans. The fans are delighted too. Turning down so much money is something to admire." Ironically, the Brazilian would join Real Madrid in June 2009 for a significantly lower sum, citing the global financial crisis and the need to help Milan.