It has been an interesting summer in terms of transfers, with some unbelievable deals taking place all across Europe.
For some players, there move this summer meant reuniting with a particular former teammate, so Football Weeks’ take a look at 7 or the more high-profile cases of this…
7. Mehdi Benatia and Douglas Costa
Mehdi Benatia spent two full seasons at the Allianz Arena, but never really performed to standard to nail a first-team spot and was sent on loan to Juventus last season, making the deal permanent over the summer.
While the Moroccan international’s exit from the Bundesliga champions was hardly surprising, Brazilian winger Douglas Costa, who had performed brilliantly since signing from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2015, was unexpectedly shown the door this summer too, joining the centre-back amongst the Serie A champions’ ranks.
6. Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma
After decade with Real Madrid, no-nonsense defender Pepe left the Santiago Bernabeu for Besiktas, with the Turkish giants even using his former teammate at Porto, Ricardo Quaresma, to announce his arrival via social media.
In addition to playing with the eccentric winger for the Portuguese national side, with whom they both helped to emerge victorious at Euro 2016, Pepe will now line up alongside Quaresma week in, week out.
5. Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy were not separated for very long – 23 days to be exact – as Manchester City finally ended their long-term pursuit of Mendy by announcing his arrival at the Etihad.
A few weeks earlier Mendy’s teammate at Monaco, Portuguese international Bernardo Silva, was also unveiled by Citizens and Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola will be hoping the duo can produce the same sort of magic as they did for Monaco last season in the Champions league.
4. Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy
A fairly new addition to the highest level of Turkish football, Istanbul Basaksehir have made a brilliant signing again this summer, by bringing in high-profile names to a club which was formed in 1990.
Two of those that came through the doors at the Fatih Terim Stadium are Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy. The pair, who both made their name at Arsenal, are now in the latter stages of their careers.
3. Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder
Both Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder were part of Inter Milan’s historic treble-winning season during the 2009/10 campaign, but each one took a rather different path thereafter, with the Dutchman spending the next five years in Turkey with Galatasaray.
The Italian striker, however, went back and forth between the Premier League and Serie A before eventually finding salvation with Nice. The duo has now been joined in the southern part of France by Sneijder and will play again together in the Champions League this season.
2. Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante
Leicester City’s unbelievable title triumph in 2015/16 and brilliant run last season had a lot to do with the hard-working partnership of Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante in midfield and Kante, who earned the PFA Player of the Year award as a result, signed for Chelsea in a reported £30m soon after.
The French midfielder proved to be a snip as he played a crucial role in helping the Blues to title winning and his former partner in crime has now following suit, signing for Chelsea for a reported £35m.
1. Dani Alves and Neymar
Without any doubt, Dani Alves and Neymar reuniting is the biggest story of the summer, Neymar’s record-breaking move from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain has countless side stories, one of which is his reunion with former Barcelona man and international teammate Dani Alves.
Alves, who only arrived in the French capital himself a few weeks before his compatriot, spent last season at Juventus and faced off against the 25-year-old superstar in the Champions League final.