A Manchester United flop, a Barcelona star to Charlton and Sol Campbell to League Two
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When Paulinho moved from Tottenham to Guangzhou Evergrande for £9.9m in the summer of 2015, there wouldn't have been many people who saw his next move being to Barcelona.
The Brazilian midfielder is considered a flop in North London after two less than productive seasons at White Hart Lane, but at 29 he's earned a move to the Catalan giants which has surprised pretty much everyone.
However, it is far from the only time that football transfers have shocked the world.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
(Image: REUTERS)
Plenty have been quick to comment on the odd nature of the transfer, but the switch has got nothing on these deals.
Julien Faubert to Real Madrid, 2009
Behold, the greatest photograph in football history.
Julien Faubert's loan move from West Ham to Real Madrid in 2009 remains one of the more bizarre decisions in the history of the Spanish giants, with the face being pulled by Alfredo Di Stefano when he presented the Frenchman with his shirt a thing of beauty.
Faubert played just two games for Real, famously falling asleep on the bench in a match against Villarreal.
Amazingly, he woke up and it wasn't all a dream.
Sol Campbell to Notts County, 2009
(Image: PA)
Never one to make a predictable career move, Big Sol signed a FIVE-YEAR contract with League Two's Notts County in 2009, hearing the words "Middle Eastern consortium" and "director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson" and presumably seeing dollar signs rolling in front of his eyes.
Alas, things weren't as they seemed. Sol would last just one game - a 2-1 defeat to Morecambe - before he was off, claiming that those owners weren't exactly who they claimed to be.
Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham, 2006
(Image: Getty)
The news on this one just seemed to come out of the blue, with Premier League fans suddenly waking up and realising that West Ham had gone out and signed two of the stars of the 2006 World Cup overnight.
If there was something that seemed dodgy about the transfer that's because there was something dodgy, and although Mascherano soon jumped ship to Liverpool, Tevez's signing was later investigated and found to be breaching third-party ownership rules.
The fact that his goals kept the Hammers up that year meant that it was probably worth it.
Ronnie O'Brien to Juventus, 1999
(Image: Daily Mirror)
What do you mean who? You know, Ronnie O'Brien!
When the 20-year-old Irishman - who played in his country's Under-16 European Championship title-winning team along with Robbie Keane and Damien Duff - was released by Middlesbrough in 1999, there was only one logical club to join. Juventus, obviously.
The midfielder made the switch to the Italian giants, but he'd never actually play for them, embarking on less-than-successful loan spells at glamorous-sounding locations such as Lugano, Crotone, Lecco and, er, Dundee United.
He finally left a no doubt heartbroken Juventus for FC Dallas in 2002.
Bebe to Manchester United, 2010
(Image: Getty Images)
This was a very weird one.
Portuguese winger Bebe - formerly of Homeless World Cup fame - had only signed for Vitoria de Guimaraes five weeks earlier, but then he pitched up at Manchester United for a vastly inflated fee of around £7.4m. And then he turned out to be useless.
Seven appearances, plenty of overhit crosses and three loan moves away later, he eventually left the club in 2014.
Edgar Davids to Barnet, 2012
(Image: Getty)
Formerly of Spurs, Dutch legend Davids had been living in North London and getting involved in Sunday League games for a couple of years when, in October 2012, he suddenly became player-manager of Barnet.
Despite his best efforts he wasn't able to keep the Bees in League Two that season, and after staying on for his side's Conference campaign he was sent off three times in the first eight games of the season, a run he sought to improve by refusing to travel to away games that required an overnight stay.
Jamie Stevenson to Real Mallorca, 2003
(Image: Daily Record)
They haven't made a film of this yet but they probably should do.
Teenager Jamie Stevenson had played a couple of games for Alloa in the Scottish lower leagues when he went on holiday with his uncle to Majorca and had a kickabout. That kickabout was spotted by a scout from Real Mallorca, and suddenly the Scottish youngster had signed for the La Liga side.
He didn't play a game for the first team and rejoined Alloa 18 months later, but they can leave that bit out of the film.
Tyrone Mears to Marseille, 2008
(Image: Paul Thomas)
There wasn't a lot to admire about the hapless Derby County side of 2007/08, but Marseille liked the cut of Tyrone Mears' jib.
The right-back was whisked over the France on loan - against the wishes of his club - and he was given the No. 8 shirt to add to the weirdness.
After seven games - which included scoring the winner in a UEFA Cup tie at Ajax - he moved on to Burnley, which seems more like it.
Allan Simonsen to Charlton, 1982
Danish star Allan Simonsen had just scored the goal which won Barcelona the Cup Winners' Cup, but when Barca signed a certain Diego Maradona in 1982 then there was no room for him.
So obviously he joined Charlton Athletic in the old Division Two, apparently turning down Real Madrid and Tottenham in order to have a quieter life in leafy Greenwich.
His time in South East London didn't last long though, and he moved back to Denmark with Vejle after just 16 games.
Kevin Keegan to Southampton, 1980
(Image: Getty)
In 1980 Southampton weren't the stable, stepping-stone-to-Liverpool Premier League force that they are now, and so their signing of the reigning European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan came as something of a shock.
Keegan joined the Saints from Hamburg for £420,000, moving back to England an inspiring his new side to a top six finish.