The Top Six Weirdest Vancouver Whitecaps Transfers in the MLS Era.

Yesterday we learned that Nosa Igiebor won’t be back in a Vancouver Whitecaps shirt. According to AFTN the Whitecaps were willing to sign Nosa at his option price but Nosa and his camp decided to try to squeeze some extra money out of the Whitecaps and this caused negotiations to break down. As I mentioned in my previous article about Nosa i’ve had some contact with people from Nosa’s camp. When it looked as if the deal might fall through I reached out to them again. It was pretty clear to me, after I was sent a barrage of videos, tweets, and stats, that Nosa’s camp were trying to fire up discontent amongst the fanbase as leverage to get their client a better deal. If it really was the case that Nosa was making unreasonable then it’s hard to blame the Whitecaps for walking away, especially with Efrain Juarez coming in. Nevertheless it’s a shame to lose a player who looked so talented. So, in honour of a bizarre transfer saga, let’s try to cheer ourselves up by counting down some of the weirdest transfers the Whitecaps have made since joining MLS in 2011.

6. Cutting Victor Blasco

Victor Blasco was an exciting talent with WFC2. Formerly of the famous La Masia academy Blasco was making a good case for himself to get an MLS contract. Then one day he was gone. Apparently due to a severe violation of club policy. To this day, as far as I know, we have no idea what caused this. He now plays for VIU.

5. The Unceremonious Departure of Barry Robson

Ah Barry Robson. He showed up, he yelled at some people and, to be fair, scored a few goals. When the 2013 training camp started he was nowhere to be seen. When asked where he was Martin Rennie said “i’m sure he’ll turn up.” Robson did not turn up. He went to Sheffield United before finishing his career with Aberdeen.

4. The Brief Time we Spent With Danny Barbir:

Danny Barbir was signed with four matches remaining in WFC2’s final season. Fans were excited to see what the former West Brom man could bring. Unfortunately it was announced that Barbir would not be moving to Fresno when WFC2 folded. Surely with four games left the Whitecaps knew they were going to fold their USL team? Did they just not discuss that with Barbir? Very odd.

3. Omar Salgado Plays Musical Chairs

Omar Salgado was once touted as the next big thing. When the Vancouver Whitecaps drafted him fans were worried that Arsenal might snatch him away. Hindsight being 20/20 they probably should have cashed in while they had the chance. Salgado was traded to NYCFC with a clause that Vancouver would get 50% of any future transfers. Within three weeks Salgado was sold to Tigres. With the transfer coming so quickly you have to wonder, why didn’t the ‘Caps didn’t just transfer him directly?

2. The Infamous One

Fresh off a golden boot winning season, Brazilian phenom Camilo appeared to have signed for Mexican side Querétaro. Lenarduzzi insisted that Camilo was still a Whitecaps player. This didn’t stop the Brazilian from taking a now infamous picture in his new team’s kit. Eventually Querétaro paid a sizeable transfer but all in all it was a weird situation.

1. Not Ulisses, Baby

Do You remember Tiago Ulisses? It’s ok if you don’t because he was only a Whitecap for 3 months in 2013. The ‘Caps imported him from Brazil only for him to be released after three months with not so much as a minute of first team football. Why? I’m not sure anybody truly knows.