EPL: 10 most shocking transfers

1. FERNANDO TORRES (Liverpool to Chelsea, 2011)

Most football fans would agree that Torres (left) has never consistently recaptured his Liverpool form in a Chelsea shirt, but the Spaniard will point to a Champions League title, a Europa League crown and an FA Cup as justification for his mammoth £50million ($100m) move.

Torres' rather frequent goal droughts have led to a variety of cruel gags, such as: Fernando Torres walks into a bar and says: "I'll have a couple of shots please." The barman says: "That's not like you."

According to his former Reds teammate, Pepe Reina, Torres left Anfield because "he started to feel that Liverpool were never going to be competitive again. There had been plenty of lies, plenty of promises which had not been kept".

2. ASHLEY COLE (Arsenal to Chelsea, 2006)

The ex-husband of Girls Aloud crooner Cheryl Tweedy became football's persona non grata when he revealed in his autobiography how "disgusted" he was by Arsenal's remuneration offer of £55,000 a week in 2005.

His subsequent "tapping up" by Chelsea led to Arsenal and the Premier League taking legal action, but not before "Cashley" had made the lucrative switch to Stamford Bridge. The Gunners have won precisely nothing since Jose Mourinho's current second-choice left back departed north London.

3. SOL CAMPBELL (Spurs to Arsenal, 2001)

To fans of Tottenham Hotspur, their former captain will always be known as "Judas" after his decision to move to north London rivals Arsenal when his contract expired.

The problem was, Campbell (above)was desperate to play Champions League football, and Spurs had never finished higher than seventh during his time there.

Tottenham fans busied themselves hanging effigies of the player from trees around London, while Campbell quickly settled into Highbury life and went on to win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups for the club he always promised Spurs fans he would never join.

4. LUIS FIGO (Barcelona to Real Madrid, 2000)

Figo achieved legendary status at Barcelona during his five years at the club, so the Portuguese legend's decision to join the Catalan side's bitterest rivals provoked outrage.

When Figo (above) returned to the Nou Camp with Real in 2002, one Barca fan threw a pig's head at the player, such was the disgust felt at his betrayal, while one strange and disturbing banner read: "Figo, because of you, I had to kill my dog".

However, the man who could literally make pigs fly and dogs die went on to play some of his best football in Madrid, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League in 2002.

5. ERIC CANTONA (Leeds to Man United, 1992)

When the controversial Frenchman (above) was handed a two-month ban for throwing a ball at a referee while playing for Nimes in December 1991, he immediately announced his retirement.

However, after quickly reversing his decision, Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson persuaded the would-be-actor to join the Whites, and a series of virtuoso performances helped to secure the First Division title in May 1992.

However, Cantona felt that he was too big for Leeds, and became a disruptive influence in the dressing room, which led to an exasperated Wilkinson agreeing to a speculative £1.2m bid from United. The rest is history.

6. ANDY COLE (Newcastle to Man United, 1995)

It would seem inconceivable that a team challenging for the Premier League title would offload their prized asset to one of their closest rivals.

But that's exactly what Magpies boss Kevin Keegan did in January 1995 with "Goal King Cole".

Cole (left) scored 68 goals in 85 games on Tyneside, but the striker's relationship with Keegan never recovered from a training ground bust-up, and that proved to be the catalyst for his then British record £6 million move.

Man United have won 11 more EPL titles and a brace of Champions League crowns to boot since Cole's move.

Newcastle's only trophy in that period has been the 2006 Intertoto Cup.

7. JEAN-MARC BOSMAN (1995)

The Belgian midfielder's legal challenge to the archaic football transfer system opened the doors for "player power". Before Bosman's intervention, footballers whose contracts had run out were still legally owned by their clubs, who were entitled to a transfer fee.

The 1995 Bosman Ruling changed everything, allowing free agents to demand huge signing-on fees in return for joining a club.

Alas, despite winning the case, Bosman's life descended into chaos as he sunk into a downward spiral of depression and alcoholism that led to him being imprisoned last year for assaulting his then girlfriend and her daughter for trying to stop him drinking.

8. ALLAN SIMONSEN (Barcelona to Charlton Athletic, 1982)

When Barcelona signed Diego Maradona in 1982, the writing was on the wall for the then Barca striker Simonsen.

The Danish hero was still very much a man in demand - there's no shame in playing second fiddle to arguably the greatest player the world has ever seen.

Real Madrid and Spurs were two of the clubs linked with the great Dane, so when he opted for a move to English Second Division strugglers Charlton, many were surprised.

After nine goals in 16 appearances, Charlton suddenly realised that they could no longer afford to pay their star man, and he moved back to Denmark to rejoin his childhood club Velje BK.

9. PELE (unattached to New York Cosmos 1975)

By the mid 1970s, Pele had been retired for two years, but was rapidly running out of cash to fund his extravagant lifestyle, so the chance to play in the fledgling North American Football League (NASL) for a whopping US$3 million ($3.8m) a year was rather appealing.

At the time, the standard of American football was poor, and the Cosmos' home pitch was so bereft of grass that groundsman Stan Cunningham had to spray-paint the pitch green before Pele's debut when he heard the game would be televised.

However, Pele's involvement with the league generated huge interest and also inspired many other world stars to head for the land of opportunity.

10. MO JOHNSTON (Nantes to Glasgow Rangers, 1989)

Glasgow Rangers had always adhered to an unwritten rule: No Catholic shalt play for this football club.

Their signing of Johnston in July 1989 not only tore up their imaginary rulebook, but also provoked a mass outcry among Catholics and Protestants in Glasgow.

Johnston wasn't just a Catholic signing for Rangers; he was also a Celtic icon having inspired the Hoops to the Scottish Premier League title in 1986 before enjoying a spell in France with Nantes.

Just a few weeks before his unveiling at Ibrox, Johnston had been paraded to the media at Parkhead after Celtic claimed to have agreed a deal to bring their prodigal son home.

However, Celtic failed to meet tax payments on the deal and Rangers completed arguably the most controversial transfer in football history.

npsports@sph.com.sg