Cesc Fabregas: Barcelona to Manchester United
At first it appeared as though new Red Devils head coach David Moyes was destined to fail in his audacious attempts to get his managerial career at Old Trafford off to a flying start by luring the former Arsenal skipper to the north west in a deal worth a reported £26m, with both the player himself and his club adamant that the Spain international was not for sale at any price.
However, as is so often the case in complex and sensitive transfers such as this one which involves the possible departure of a hugely popular home-grown star, the combination of both time and the arrival of an equally popular new recruit to the club can often soften such hard stances.
And with Fabregas himself now realising that his chances of holding down a regular starting berth in the Barcelona front free following the double capture of Torres and Neymar had further receded, he took the only option really left available to him by making a return to the English top flight with Premier League champions United, a club he reportedly has always supported, to replace the recently retired Paul Scholes in the centre of the park.
All of which has cleared the path for unsettled Red Devils striker Wayne Rooney to join Paris Saint-Germain, with Moyes set to use Fabregas as part of a five-man midfield next season, although pushed further forward into the ‘hole’ to support lone front man Robin Van Persie in a position that the Englishman used to occupy.