ALEXIS-MKHITARYAN, IBRAHIMOVIC-ETO'O AND THE BIGGEST SWAP DEALS IN FOOTBALL.

Manchester United and Arsenal have become the latest to trade, with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter having done likewise in the past.

Alexis Sanchez-Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Manchester United-Arsenal
After flirting outrageously with Manchester City for the best part of six months, Sanchez has shacked up with the Blues’ neighbours at Old Trafford. Manchester United’s offer to make him the best-paid player in the Premier League proved enough to turn the Chilean’s head, while Arsenal were happy to get a ready-made replacement in Mkhitaryan. Ultimately, everybody seems to have got what they want…apart from City, but then the runaway Premier League leaders never really needed Sanchez anyway.

Samuel Eto’o-Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Inter-Barcelona
Barcelona won just about everything it is possible to win in 2009, but took the rather bemusing decision to break that team up by sending Eto’o and €35 million in the direction of Inter as Ibrahimovic made his way to Camp Nou. Eto’o would help to inspire another Treble triumph in Italy, while Ibrahimovic butted heads on a regular basis with Guardiola, writing in his autobiography of his time in Catalunya: "Guardiola was staring at me and I lost it. I thought, ‘There is my enemy, scratching his bald head!’ I yelled to him, ‘You have no balls!’ and probably worse things than that."

Nemanja Matic-David Luiz: Benfica-Chelsea
Having given Matic just three senior appearances, Chelsea agreed to let a highly-rated midfielder head to Benfica in January 2011 as part of a €25m deal for enigmatic Brazilian defender Luiz. The Blues quickly spotted the error of their ways and had to stump up another €25m to bring Matic back to west London three years later. They have also sold and re-signed Luiz since then, while moving Matic out once more to Manchester United for £40m in the summer of 2017.

Antonio Nunez-Michael Owen: Liverpool-Real Madrid
As part of their ‘Galactico’ policy, Real Madrid swooped to land former Ballon d’Or winner Owen from Liverpool in the summer of 2004. Bit-part midfielder Nunez was sent in the opposite direction as part of an £8m transfer, but both sides of the deal would spend just 12 months in new surrounds before returning from whence they came. Owen did net 16 times for Madrid, including in a Clasico clash with Barcelona, but he struggled for regular starts and Nunez fared little better at Anfield as he was moved on to Celta Vigo after making just 18 Premier League appearances.