- 7 months ago
Money, betrayal, and shocking decisions... Join us as we count down the most controversial trades that rocked the sporting world! Our list includes shocking transfers that left fans outraged, franchises in ruins, and players with tarnished legacies. From Gretzky leaving Canada to Figo crossing the El Clásico divide, these deals changed sports forever.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 sports trades
00:11that caused controversy and ended up bringing about some serious drama.
00:19Number 10. Neymar to PSG. Money has had an undeniable effect on the game of football
00:25since its earliest date, but there's no question that things have been getting out of hand in
00:29recent years. The frankly insane €222 million release clause that Neymar had in his Barcelona
00:44contract would have usually been seen as a not-for-sale sign a decade ago. However, these
00:48days, things are a little different. It's unfortunate. I'm sad that some people think that way.
00:53I am not a guy who's motivated by money, but by happiness and challenges. PSG, who had
00:59financial backing and a desire to build a legit franchise, met the €222 million target,
01:04bringing Neymar to France in a deal that was totally out of this world. Money like that
01:08brings unrealistic expectations, and it's pretty fair that it left us all with a very uncertain
01:13feeling about where football is headed. Believe it or not, this is not an easy decision.
01:16Number 9. Patrick Waugh trade. Sometimes a fallout with your coach can be the final nail in the coffin.
01:21Patrick Waugh just went over and said something to Corey, and I'm not so sure what it was,
01:25but he went right to him. That'll be even more of a story tomorrow.
01:30Patrick Waugh had a very public feud with Mario Tremblay, demanding a trade away from the Montreal
01:35Canadians. They sent him off to the Colorado Avalanche, and it was unanimously seen as one
01:39of the most dim-witted decisions imaginable. True to his word, Rayjean Houle wasted little
01:43time in trading Patrick Waugh, acquiescing as well to Waugh's wishes to be dealt to a contending club.
01:49Early predictions that Tremblay would regret his actions were proven right several times over,
01:54when Waugh went on to win two Stanley Cups in his new home, while Montreal failed to make any real
01:59impact. A legendary trade disaster.
02:01The Colorado Avalanche are the Stanley Cup champions.
02:05Number 8. Tevez's cross-city defection. There are few rivalries in football quite as
02:09ferocious as the divide between Manchester United and Manchester City.
02:13This is a clash. Seeds in history.
02:16Though United were generally the dominant force in the 20th and some of the 21st century,
02:20an influx of money has brought City right to the forefront of European football.
02:24These days, the roles are almost entirely reversed, with United now struggling to make ends meet.
02:29Do you want to stay at Manchester United?
02:32Very difficult.
02:33So in 2009, when Carlos Tevez, who was initially beloved by United fans,
02:37until a rift with boss Sir Alex Ferguson decided to leave and sign with Manchester City,
02:42it caused huge tension. To make matters worse, Tevez was a big success,
02:45helping City win their first Premier League title since 1968.
02:49The blue moon has risen!
02:53Just like a dream in their hearts!
02:57City are champions!
03:01And they did it in the most staggering fashion!
03:05Number 7. The Curse of the Bambino.
03:08You don't just trade Babe Ruth and expect to get away with it scot-free.
03:11The Curse of the Bambino started the Red Sox, sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000.
03:17Ruth, of course, won four World Series with the Yanks, hit 659 home runs with them.
03:22It took the Red Sox 86 years to win their next World Series.
03:26Red Sox owner Harry Frazee obviously didn't heed any warnings he may have heard
03:30and offloaded the greatest player of his generation to the Yankees for a reported $100,000
03:35plus a $300,000 loan.
03:37He cared more about his theater ventures than he did his baseball team
03:41and saw a chance to get a lot of cash and had to go with it.
03:45The trade had the knock-on effect of catapulting the Yankees into a run of dominance,
03:49while Boston didn't win a World Series for 86 years.
03:52The Curse of the Bambino is what they called it,
03:54but in reality, the trade on face value is a truly poor decision
03:57that totally baffled fans and analysts alike.
04:00Frazee comes out and gives a very lengthy defense of his actions here.
04:03The Yankees are taking quite a gamble, is one of his quotes.
04:06It's 26 World Championships to zero since the Yankees took that big gamble,
04:11so this hasn't gone well since that deal went down.
04:14Number 6. Luka Doncic traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers.
04:17Where were you all on Saturday night when the most shocking trade in NBA history came down?
04:22I had to make sure Shams didn't get hacked.
04:24We're going to cover every angle of this shocking deal that sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis.
04:30This was truly a move that no one saw coming.
04:32There was no telegraphing to this one.
04:33The Mavericks boss, Nico Harrison, was supposedly ready to ship Luka Doncic off,
04:37despite him being the star and future of his franchise.
04:40Everybody was surprised, so you can imagine how surprised I was.
04:45I was almost asleep, so when I got a call, I had to check if it was April 1st.
04:51I didn't really believe it at first.
04:52The Lakers, who clearly had one eye on the aging LeBron James longevity,
04:56decided to trade Anthony Davis for Luka in early 2025.
04:59The Mavericks claimed that they had concerns about his work ethic and attitude and hoped to improve their defense with this move.
05:04However, NBA fans almost unanimously agreed that the Lakers got themselves the deal of the century with this one.
05:10I don't think you trade a guy like Luka Doncic if he's unhappy.
05:13You try to make him happy.
05:14I think you trade him when you're unhappy.
05:16And so there was something about the management that probably they were unhappy with that made this happen.
05:22Number 5. Wilt Chamberlain to Lakers
05:24To say that Wilt Chamberlain was ahead of his time would be an understatement.
05:27Chamberlain immediately asserted his dominance, averaging 38 points and 27 rebounds.
05:34As a rookie, he had climbed to the top of the league.
05:36The NBA record book in his heyday was basically just a collection of things that Wilt had managed to achieve.
05:41He had so much power over the Philadelphia 76ers that he basically managed to pressure them into trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
05:48He said, I want to be traded, and I want to be traded to a West Coast team.
05:52And we got Daryl Imhoff and Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers for Wilt Chamberlain.
06:00Wilt went to the Lakers.
06:02This might not sound that odd to the modern basketball fan, but Wilt's actions marked the beginning of a new era.
06:07Analysts worried that players leveraging their ability against their own team would become commonplace.
06:11And they were certainly right.
06:12Chamberlain was a pioneer in many ways, on and off the court.
06:15And Wilt looks at the reporter and said,
06:19no one controls Wilt.
06:21Number 4. Figo's Galactico Backstab
06:24There are many rivalries in the sporting world that are never going to disappear.
06:27The collision of Spanish football and giants Real Madrid and Barcelona
06:31is such a huge event in and of itself that they call each game El Clásico.
06:34The meeting of these two teams is often football played at its very highest level.
06:38And while a few players have represented both sides, few have done as dramatically as Luis Figo.
06:43The definitive point in his time as a player came when he left Barca for their eternal rivals, Real Madrid.
06:49When Figo transferred to Madrid, it was the ultimate betrayal and the fans took it extremely personally.
06:54For years, the Portuguese winger was routinely pelted with projectiles during matches,
06:58with one fan even throwing a pig's head in his direction.
07:01One of the most dramatic transfer U-turns of all time.
07:03In the end, I think it's the same in every area and every profession.
07:09When you don't feel sufficiently acknowledged,
07:12and I don't mean by the fans by this, but rather the club,
07:17you aren't 100% committed,
07:19and that means you consider a change when another offer comes to you.
07:23Number 3. Herschel Walker Trade
07:24Trades are always a gamble to some extent,
07:27but you really have to do your best to stack the odds in your favor.
07:30It is mind-boggling that we were able to make this deal.
07:34One owner said it's a great train robbery.
07:37When the Minnesota Vikings basically gave up an unprecedented haul of players and draft picks
07:42to get their hands on Herschel Walker,
07:43they were putting a lot of their eggs in one basket.
07:45Herschel could be on his way to the Super Bowl,
07:47while the Cowboys could be on their way to the Toilet Bowl.
07:51For the Dallas Cowboys, it was too good a deal to refuse.
07:53Walker unfortunately failed to live up to expectations,
07:56while the Cowboys used the boatload of resources that were handed to them to totally rebuild.
08:00This led them to a huge run of success and acclaim,
08:03making this one of the most lopsided deals in NFL history.
08:05The fundamentals behind the trade were draft picks for the future to build for the Dallas Cowboys,
08:12but at the same time, at the very same time,
08:16have players involved that could contribute immediately in 1989 for the Dallas Cowboys.
08:21Number 2. Diego Maradona to Napoli
08:24Diego Maradona holds the distinction of breaking the world transfer record not once but twice,
08:29which makes sense because he is Diego Maradona after all.
08:32In 1984, when Napoli decided to shell out a huge sum of money to pry the Argentinian away from Barcelona,
08:37there were rumors of mafia involvement.
08:39Bringing a player like Maradona to Italy would do wonders for business,
08:42and so the transfer left many with an uneasy feeling.
08:45No matter where the money came from, though, Diego delivered the goods,
08:48becoming a living legend in Serie A.
08:50It was a larger-than-life deal for a larger-than-life player.
08:53Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:57Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees, the move that reshaped baseball economics.
09:01I've come to a point in my career where winning is the most important thing.
09:05Aside from all personal accolades, I think I've done a lot there,
09:09but winning is the most important thing.
09:10Mo Johnston's old firm twist, the ultimate betrayal within Glasgow's city limits.
09:15It was an absolute volcano erupting, not just in Scottish football,
09:21throughout the football world.
09:23Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns,
09:25picked up by the Browns while dealing with several allegations.
09:28When this trade is completed, Watson is expected to get a five-year,
09:32$230 million contract that is fully guaranteed.
09:36LeBron James, the decision.
09:38Egotistical spectacle taking to a whole new level.
09:40LeBron, what's your decision?
09:43Um, and this fall, man, this is very tough.
09:46And this fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.
09:50John Robertson jumped ship,
09:52the transfer that caused a rift between an iconic manager and former assistant duo.
09:56Brian and I think you can play.
09:58You dangled the character, man.
10:00It was like a light bulb switching on.
10:03And I was never at the team from then until 1983.
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10:211. Wayne Gretzky Trader
10:25Wayne Gretzky is a legend with no equal in the world of hockey.
10:28Wayne Gretzky, the great one, transcended accolades achieved on the ice to become a cultural icon with an immeasurable impact on hockey.
10:37On top of that, he was a symbol of Canadian pride and excellence, a unifying figure in the NHL who had accomplished truly exceptional things for the Edmonton Oilers by the time the 80s were wrapping up.
10:47So when the Oilers decided to trade him out of the country to the Los Angeles Kings, it was seen as a major betrayal of Canadian hockey culture.
10:53They traded him from Edmonton to Los Angeles.
10:56The whole nation got caught up in this.
10:58And people still haven't forgiven Peter Potlington for doing that deed.
11:03Though he was credited with popularizing hockey in L.A., he didn't win a Stanley Cup there, in spite of his tremendous performances.
11:10Had he stayed in Canada, things might have played out a lot differently.
11:13Or at least that's what most Canadian fans will tell you.
11:15It's the biggest trade in sports history.
11:19He wasn't a rookie. He wasn't over the hill.
11:22He was in his prime.
11:24He had set records that no one in any team sport had ever set.
11:28But what sports trading scandal shook you to your core?
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