From big buy to bye-bye: The curious case of players like Mikel, Bebe, Vieri and Jarni who sign and then leave without playing a match

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There is little that excites a football fan more than when your team signs a new player and the prospect of seeing them in action. 

Yet some supporters never get to see this dream come true... even when the player has actually signed on the dotted line. 

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI takes a look back at 10 deals where a player joined a club, held the shirt, declared his new-found love... and left within a matter of weeks.

Clive Allen (right) and Paul Barron leave Arsenal's training ground to head to Palace in 1980

Clive Allen - QPR to Arsenal to Crystal Palace, 1980

Arsenal spent £1.25 million on the QPR striker in 1980, but he was swapped for Crystal Palace full back Kenny Sansom two months later. 

He played in only three pre-season games for Arsenal and would go on to become a Tottenham legend, picking up the PFA Player and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year during his time at White Hart Lane.

It was suggested that the move was a ploy to get Sansom from Palace, but Allen never bought into that, saying: 'Several different theories were put forward. There was no foundation to any of them. I mean, if Arsenal wanted Kenny, why didn't they just buy him from Palace?'

Clive Allen had his official portrait taken in an Arsenal shirt, but didn't play a league match

Allen (left) pictured with Arsenal manager Terry Neill and fellow new signing John Hollins

Allen would later go on to become a legend at Arsenal's north London rivals, Tottenham

Robert Jarni - Real Betis to Coventry to Real Madrid, 1998

A wonderfully bizarre sequence of events. Coventry had signed the Croatian from Real Betis for £2.6m after the World Cup. 

Within a week he had joined Real Madrid for £3.35 million and Betis suspected foul play, as they had previously refused to sell to their league rivals.

He later explained: 'I wouldn't say it was my wife's decision, but it was a family decision – my family was against moving to England. We had small children, my daughter was in elementary school in Spain and we preferred to stay there rather than move to England.

'I was honest about it, and when I told (manager Gordon) Strachan, he understood.'

 He would last just one season at the Bernabeu before his career finished with stints at Las Palmas and Panathinaikos in Greece.

Coventry fans never got to see Croatia legend Robert Jarni (left) wearing their sky blue kit; while David Unsworth quickly decided he had made the wrong move to Aston Villa

Robert Jarni (left) in action for Real Madrid with Clarence Seedorf after leaving Coventry

David Unsworth - West Ham to Aston Villa to Everton, 1998

He left West Ham because his wife was not enjoying London and wanted to return to Merseyside. Unsworth's plan was to commute to Villa from Merseyside but after taking three hours on the road after his first session had a quick change of heart.

His Villa manager, John Gregory, was less than impressed. He said at the time: 'It's quite clear that it's David's missus who wears the trousers in their house. She refused point-blank to move to the Midlands.

'In my time as a player it used to be a case of "Pack the china, love, I'm going to a new club somewhere else in the country".

'But all that seems to have gone out of the window. Apparently it took David three-and-a-half hours to drive home to Merseyside last Friday following his first training session with us. It obviously set him thinking, because the poor lad was clearly under the impression that Birmingham was somewhere on the outskirts of Bolton!

'When David eventually arrived home, his dinner was in the dustbin - or perhaps it was in the cat!'

He joined Everton for the same £3m fee that Villa paid to West Ham, going to make 188 League appearances for the Merseyside club, and is still working with the club today as their Under 23s coach.

David Unsworth is unveiled as an Aston Villa player at the start of a very brief spell at the club

No holding back from Unsworth during his West Ham days as he squares up to Stefano Eranio

In the end, Unsworth returned to Merseyside and Everton for a second spell

John Obi-Mikel - Lyn Oslo to Manchester United to Chelsea, 2005

What an incredible mess. Mikel had a press conference as a Manchester United player in 2005 and went through the usual motions of holding up a shirt for the cameras. But he never played a game for them, as a bitter fight ensued with both Chelsea and United arguing they had signed the player from Lyn Oslo in Norway.

Mikel said at that United unveiling press conference: 'I am pleased to get the chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.'

The issue went through the courts before, eventually, Chelsea ended up paying United £12m and £4m to Lyn to get the deal done. It proved good business, with the Nigerian spending over a decade at Stamford Bridge, winning two league titles and the Champions League before moving to China last January. 

Manchester United unveiled John Obi Mikel but he never played for them and joined Chelsea

John Obi Mikel in action for Chelsea against the side he might have played for in 2008

Christian Vieri - Monaco to Sampdoria to Atalanta, 2006

A great striker but always fond of a move. In a 27-month stretch between May 2005 and August 2007, he was signed to six clubs: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Monaco, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Fiorentina.

It was the Sampdoria move that stood out, as he joined on a one-year contract and left 35 days later without playing a single game.

His departure was shrouded in mystery; the club said in a statement the decision was made after a 'serene' meeting between the player and Sampdoria's chief executive Giuseppe Marotta, who himself said 'the conditions no longer existed' to keep Vieri. There was talk that Vieri was depressed.

He then signed for Atalanta on a curious one-year contract, at the minimum wage of 1,500 euros a month but with heavy goal bonuses. In the end, he managed just two goals, leaving the club for Fiorentina the following summer. 

Christian Vieri was a fearsome striker with Italy but rarely settled at one club for very long

Christian Vieri in action for Monaco before his quick-fire moves to Sampdoria and Atalanta 

David Livermore - Millwall to Leeds to Hull, 2006

Leeds responded to their defeat in the Championship play-off final in 2006 by signing David Livermore for £500,000 from Millwall. 

But having brought in the midfielder, they also signed Ian Westlake and Kevin Nicholls in the same position, with Kevin Blackwell admitting Livermore would have limited first-team opportunities.

He was sold to Hull for £500,000 10 days after joining Leeds, where he helped the Tigers avoid relegation. He is currently back at Millwall, where is assistant to Neil Harris. 

David Livermore attempts to stop Cristiano Ronaldo when at Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup final

After 10 days at Leeds United, Livermore (left) was sold on to Hull City

Dietmar Hamann - Liverpool to Bolton to Manchester City, 2006

The German was signed by Sam Allardyce's Bolton in July 2006 on a free transfer upon leaving Liverpool and the move was described by Allardyce as his 'best bit of business'. Within 24 hours, Hamann had signed for Manchester City.

'I had agreed to join Bolton, but I quickly realised that going to them would not be the right move for me,' he told the City website.

'I told Bolton my feelings immediately and they understood my decision. When I became aware of press reports suggesting that City were interested in me, I was excited at the prospect of joining this club and knew this is where I want to be. I am happy that the situation has been sorted quickly.'

It was perhaps inevitable that Hamann's only league goal for City would come against Bolton, before he hung up his boots in 2011 after a player-coach spell with MK Dons. 

Dietmar Hamman (right) quickly thought again about joining Bolton and went to Man City

Bebe - Estrela da Amadora to Vitoria Guimaraes to Manchester United, 2010

He joined Portuguese top-flight side Vitoria on a free transfer from Estrela da Amadora in 2010 and played well in their pre-season friendlies, scoring five goals in six games. Five weeks later he was signed by United for a reported fee of £7.4m, with Sir Alex Ferguson admitting he had never seen him play. It didn't work out so well.

Bebe is probably Ferguson's most notorious failure in the transfer market, making just two appearances in four years at Old Trafford and leaving many questioning what on earth the Scot was thinking.

He has failed to establish himself in short spells at many clubs in Portugal and Spain, and now, still only aged 26, is at Eibar.  

Bebe was a spectacular failure at Manchester United after being signed by Sir Alex Ferguson

Richard Wright - Ipswich to Preston North End to Manchester City, 2012

Having been released by Ipswich he had a trial at Preston and signed a one-year deal on July 1, 2012. But just one week in he said he was feeling homesick and wanted to return to Suffolk, with Preston agreeing to terminate his contract.

He said on the club website at the time: 'I've only been away from home for a few days and I know already that I cannot live that far away from my family. I think it is only fair to be honest now rather than down the line.'

A couple of months later he joined Manchester City to be third-choice goalkeeper. He would spend four seasons at the Eithad stadium, but never made a single competitive appearance for the club. 

Richard Wright's (left) Preston career never started; Martin Demichelis jumped ship from Atletico Madrid to Manchester City after just three months with the Spanish club

Martin Demichelis - Malaga to Atletico Madrid to Manchester City, 2013

The Argentine joined Atletico on a one-year deal in July 2013  after his Malaga contract had expired and certainly seemed quite pleased about it, saying: 'I know that I'm joining the best defence in the league and I hope we can keep that up. I will come here with a humble attitude and will contribute what I can. I hope it's a successful year for me and for the team.'

A month later he heard about interest from Manchester City and was reportedly asking for Atletico to rescind his contract. By the start of September he was a City player, having never appeared for Atletico. 

He enjoyed three seasons in Manchester, lifting the Premier League trophy during his time there, before ending his career back at Malaga last season. 

Martin Demichelis (right) pictured during one of his few appearances for Atletico Madrid