Transfer deadline day is football’s version of theatre. Fax machines jam, private jets go dark, and managers suddenly “believe in” a player they had never previously mentioned. The day has produced some of the most baffling, brilliant, and downright chaotic moves in modern football history.

Below is a look at the deals that made fans question reality, club accountants panic, and journalists refresh Twitter every three seconds.

Fernando Torres to Chelsea (2011)

Chelsea breaking the British transfer record to sign Fernando Torres from Liverpool for £50 million was headline gold. The move, announced minutes before the window slammed shut, symbolised the excess of the Premier League era.

Liverpool reinvested in Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll, two players who couldn’t have been more different, while Torres’ time in London never lived up to its price tag. It remains the defining image of deadline-day risk gone wrong.

Gareth Bale’s Move to Real Madrid (2013)

This was football’s worst-kept secret that still managed to go to the wire. Tottenham held out for a record £85 million as Real Madrid pulled every string possible to land Bale before the window closed.

It was a Hollywood transfer with galáctico-level drama. The unveiling, the world-record...