Then come the top clubs, circling like vultures, waiting to pounce on a player or two who have had their heads turned by dreams of winning trophies or earning higher wages (or even both).
It’s a big headache for managers as their players even go AWOL to force a move away from the club. They refuse to attend training and even feign injuries (before miraculously passing club medicals wink wink) to avoid training and coming face-to-face with their current bosses.
Here are a few big names who refused to return to training to ensure they got their transfer sorted.
#1 Philippe Coutinho: Liverpool to Barcelona
After losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a record-breaking transfer, Barcelona had tried to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in the summer of 2017. But the Reds were unwilling to let their prized asset go - no matter the price.
Bid after bid was rejected by the Anfield club who vehemently claimed that no amount of money would convince them to part with Coutinho as Barcelona started to get desperate.
It was at this time when Coutinho himself did not train with Liverpool. Klopp did say he was injured but, of course, nobody was buying that without a closer look behind the scenes.
Once the transfer window closed, Coutinho was available to play again and even played in the Champions League, helping the Reds qualify for the knockout stages.
However, Barcelona sealed the deal in January 2018 and this time Liverpool did not stand in his way as they signed off on a £142m transfer.
#2 Dani Alves: Sevilla to Barcelona
If there was one player a team could rely on to play more than 50 games a season, it was Dani Alves. He averaged 51 games with Sevilla in their last four seasons where he won a Copa del Rey title and two UEFA Cups (now the Europa League).
But there was a time when he almost sealed a move to the Premier League. Chelsea were looking to sign the full-back in the summer of 2007 but the La Liga club rejected three bids in all which left Alves upset as he was looking for a move to a big club.
This played a huge role in what would transpire next summer. After his final season with Sevilla, Pep Guardiola took over at Barcelona and targeted the Brazilian.
This time, Alves would not budge. He refused to play for Sevilla in qualifiers and soon got his wish to move on with the club agreeing on a £23.5m fee.
#3 Diego Costa: Chelsea to Atletico Madrid
After helping Chelsea win the Premier League title in Antonio Conte’s debut season, the Italian manager sent him a text message, telling him he was no longer in his plans at Stamford Bridge and that he was free to leave.
“My relationship with the coach has been bad this season,” Costa had said when the message became public. “It is a shame, I have already forwarded the message to Chelsea people to decide.”
It had started back in January 2017 when the Brazil-born Spanish striker had an altercation with the Blues coach over his fitness. Relations had already been strained when he had said he wanted to leave the club the previous summer.
The text message was the last straw and Costa decided to hang around in Brazil instead of returning for pre-season training with the Blues. No transfer was agreed and his preferred destination Atletico Madrid were serving a transfer ban that summer.
Ultimately, Costa did seal a move to the Rojiblancos, officially rejoining them in January 2018.
#4 Ousmane Dembele: Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona
Here we go, it’s Barcelona again. After Neymar’s departure, the Catalan club saw Ousmane Dembele as the next young winger who could make it big. He was ripping defences apart alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and they clearly saw some value in the youngster.
When Dembele got word of Barcelona’s interest, his head was turned. Dortmund had rejected an initial bid from the La Liga giants saw Dembele skip a training session - a move that saw him suspended by the club.
The move even saw him suspended for the club’s first DFB Pokal game. The club’s sporting director Michael Zorc said: “Ousmane Dembele was missing from training (on Thursday) without excuse and obviously took such a step consciously. Obviously, we will be sanctioning such wrong behaviour.
“In addition after discussions with the coach we suspended the player from match and training action until next week and after our German Cup game on the weekend.”
Ultimately, Dembele got his wish after Dortmund accepted an initial £96.8m transfer fee that could potentially rise to £135.5m.
#5 Gareth Bale: Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid
Only five players have won the Premier League PFA Player of the Year award twice and the last player to do so was Gareth Bale. The left-back-turned-left-winger-turned-forward was virtually unstoppable in his final season with Tottenham Hotspur when he scored 26 goals (21 in the league).
But with no silverware (other than individual trophies) to show for his hard work, something was clearly going to give. Even former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp knew a big move was inevitable.
When Real Madrid decided to test Spurs’ resolve, they came across the notorious Daniel Levy - the man known to drive the hardest bargain in football.
But the deal took time to come to fruition. Real had to offload players to make way for Bale and many clubs were ultimately involved. The negotiations dragged on as the new Premier League season got underway but Bale was nowhere to be seen.
The official word was that he was recovering from an injury, which was why he wasn’t involved in pre-season but he still managed to “recover” to play for Wales in the World Cup qualifiers.
Ultimately, it was a world record £86m fee on deadline day that saw Bale move to Madrid.
It is safe to say the move worked out for him; what with four Champions League titles and 11 trophies in all already.
#6 Luka Modric: Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid
Luka Modric was already a household name even before he had moved to Real Madrid. But it was a difficult road to Santiago Bernabeu with Tottenham Hotspur standing in his way when he wanted to leave - not once, but twice.
The first time the then-Spurs midfielder was a target was when Chelsea came calling in 2011. The Blues first came in with a £22m bid which was rejected. Even after it was increased to £27m, the Spurs were unwilling to deal with their Premier League rivals.
Modric refused to play for Spurs as the season got underway and the Spurs duly lost to Manchester United. When Chelsea came in with a £40m bid on deadline day, it was rejected again and Modric was stuck at Tottenham.
The next summer (2012) saw Real Madrid come into the picture and, this time, Modric refused to travel with the squad on their pre-season tour to the United States.
With no other go, Spurs accepted a bid of £30m from Real Madrid and Modric went on to have a successful career at the Bernabeu, winning four Champions League titles.
#7 Sergio Aguero: Atletico Madrid to Manchester City
Sergio Aguero was a talent any club in the world would have paid top money for. The striker made a name for himself in Europe after he moved to Atletico Madrid and scored 101 goals in four seasons.
By the end of the 2010/11 season, though, Aguero was aching for a move to a bigger club. The Rojiblancos had a decent team but were nowhere near the trophy-winning calibre they are at today.
In May 2011, Aguero officially stated his desire to leave. The Argentine striker announced his decision on his own website.
The striker remained in Argentina that summer and did not report for pre-season training. Many Atletico fans thought he was going to seal a move to arch-rivals Real Madrid but Atletico dealt with Manchester City and eventually sealed a deal worth £38m.
While Atletico reinvested that money in Radamel Falcao, Aguero went on to help City win their first Premier League title with a winner in stoppage time on the final day of the season.
He has since won three league titles and is now the club’s official top goalscorer with 201 goals (prior to the 2018/19 season).
#8 Thibaut Courtois: Chelsea to Real Madrid
After finishing fifth in the Premier League and no longer in the Champions League, Chelsea are having a tough time keeping hold of their players this summer. Eden Hazard has been linked with a move away but he still has two years to run on his contract, putting Chelsea in the driving seat.
That is not the case with Thibaut Courtois, though. The Belgian goalkeeper’s contract expires in 2019 and he has no intention of signing a contract extension to stay at Stamford Bridge.
Rather than risk losing him for free, Chelsea are looking to sell him with Real Madrid interested in securing his signature. But the deal will only go through if Chelsea find a replacement.
That has not been the case so far and Courtois missed the Community Shield match and has since not returned for training sessions either. New manager Maurizio Sarri was hoping he would return, saying: “I want to hear from Courtois. I want only players with a very high level of motivation.”
Courtois had spent three years in Madrid when he was loaned to Atletico and his partner also lives in the city with his kids. The goalkeeper has said he preferred a move to Madrid so he can be closer to them instead of continuing his career in England.
Real eventually announced got their man with Mateo Kovacic going the other way on loan.
#9 Cesc Fabregas: Arsenal to Barcelona
Another transfer saga that involved Barcelona and a Premier League club was the Cesc Fabregas saga and that lasted more than just the one transfer window. Having signed him as a teenager from Barcelona, Arsenal had spent years developing the Spanish midfielder before the La Liga club came calling to bring back their prodigal son.
Obviously, Fabregas wanted to return to his former club. They were the arguably the best club in Europe while Arsenal were still struggling to finish in the top four with restricted finances.
The first summer was immediately after the 2010 World Cup where Spain were crowned champions. But at the time, the Gunners refused to sell. Barcelona returned next summer and this time, too, Arsene Wenger refused to let go of a player who was crucial to his formation and style of play.
That was when Fabregas refused to either train with the squad in pre-season or even play as the season got underway. Finally, Wenger gave in and allowed Fabregas to return to the Camp Nou.
To put Fabregas’ refusal to train in contrast, Samir Nasri is a more hated figure at Arsenal even though he was far more professional in his final days and played the first couple of fixtures before moving to Manchester City.
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out for Fabregas at Barcelona.
Also read: To La Liga and back again - The decline of Cesc Fabregas
#10 Ronaldo Nazario: Inter Milan to Real Madrid
There was a reason why Ronaldo Nazario was known as O Fenômeno (The Phenomenon) and his years at Inter Milan was when he established himself as the premier striker in Europe at the time.
Ronaldo was certainly a force to reckon with. His first season at Inter saw him score 34 goals but recurring injuries - especially to his knees - saw his devastating form take a hit.
Things weren’t all rosy with his last manager at Inter either. Ronaldo claimed he risked his career for Hector Cuper and that was when things started turning sour, especially when they narrowly lost out on the Serie A title on the final day of the 2001/02 season.
The Nerazzurri needed a win but fell to a 4-2 defeat to Lazio and finished third. That was the last straw and a terrific World Cup where Ronaldo won the title and the Golden Boot with Brazil saw Real Madrid knocking on his door.
Ronaldo refused to train with Inter after a breakdown in relations with Cuper and Inter president Massimo Moratti eventually allowed him to leave for €46m.
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