1. The “No-Bite” Clause
When Luis Suarez joined Barcelona in 2014 for £64.98m, the club added a bizarre “No-Bite” clause in his contract.
Incidentally, the Uruguayan had been guilty of biting his opponents on the field on more than one occasion, most famously during the 2014 FIFA World Cup when he bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in a high-intensity clash.
Therefore, Barcelona felt that it would be in their best interest to have the clause added to his contract.
Luis Suarez's infamous biting incident in 2014 FIFA World Cup
2. The “No Space Travel” Clause
In 1999, Sunderland signed Swedish Player of the Year, Stefan Schwarz from Valencia. Schwarz had a fascination with space and was considering signing up for one of the first commercial flights to space that were supposed to be launched in 2002.
“It’s true. I’d love to go into space. My agent said, let’s get this contract won and we’ll go”- Stefan Schwarz told theathletic.com.
However, Sunderland were not amused by the news and specified in the contract that he was not allowed to go into space until the end of the contract.
3. The “Visiting Friends” Clause
Barcelona’s negotiators had to work their magic to sign Neymar from the Brazilian club, Santos.
Keeping the huge amount of money that they spent aside, the decorated Brazilian had a special request. His group of close friends, famously known as “The TOISS”, had to be flown to Barcelona every two months to spend time with him.
All expenses were to be covered by the club.
Neymar's friends were allowed to visit Barcelona every two months to spend time with the Brazilian
4. The “Sheep’s Testicle” Clause
Cardiff City’s former owner Sam Hammam had inserted a special clause while signing Spencer Prior from Manchester City in 2001.
According to the clause, before letting the defender play for his side, Prior had to eat a traditional Lebanese delicacy- "Sheep’s Testicles".
It was considered a test of character and a symbol of trust. Interestingly, Prior honoured the contract to show his commitment to the club and he had the meal with lemon and parsley.
5. The “No-Fly” Clause
Dennis Bergkamp is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and the only thing that could stop the Dutchman was, well, an airplane.
His crippling fear of flying was taken into account in his Arsenal contract and he was never asked to fly, forcing him to miss key games.
His fear of flying earned him the nickname “The Non-Flying Dutchman”.
6. The “Ballon d’Or” Clause
Great things were expected from Angel Di Maria when he moved to Manchester United in 2014 for a transfer fee of £60m. So much so, that Real Madrid negotiated an extra payment of £5m if Di Maria actually won the Ballon d’Or award.
Di Maria’s stint at Old Trafford, however, was not a successful one and he was sold to PSG the following season for an undisclosed fee.
7. The “Lego-House” Clause
When Giuseppe Reina signed for Arminia Bielefeld in 1996, he thought he was the best negotiator in the world. Wages aside, he demanded that a new house be built for him every season.
Surprisingly, the club accepted the clause happily. However, the type or size of the house was never specified and the club built him a house of LEGO for each completed season.
Well, a not-so-smart negotiation after all!
8. The “Private-Jet” Clause
Samuel Eto’o became the highest-paid player in the world when he made a surprising move from Inter Milan to Russian side, Anzhi Makhachkala.
However, his incredible £20m per season contract also included a special clause, “The Private-Jet” Clause.
According to the contract, the club would have to provide him with a private jet for his travel since he chose to live in the more attractive city of Moscow rather than Makhachkala.
9. The “Cooking Class” Clause
One of the most obscure clauses to be put on a player’s contract was when Congolese midfielder Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien signed for the German club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Apparently, it is believed that the Congolese international insisted that it be contractually agreed that his wife would take up cooking classes.
Thankfully though, his wife did not find it offensive and took the classes well and learnt some exquisite dishes that she probably wouldn’t have dreamt of.
Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien sure liked a tasty meal!
10. The “Good Conduct” Clause
Mario Balotelli’s move to Liverpool was an odd one given the Italian’s history of erratic conduct both on and off the pitch.
The Reds knew this and wanted to ensure crazy Mario would be on his best behaviour.
If he followed a code of conduct, which says, “If he’s not dismissed from the field three times or more for violent conduct, spitting at an opponent, using abusive languages or gestures”, he would earn an additional £1m per season.
11. The Night Club Clause
Ronaldinho is regarded as one of the best freestyle footballers of all time. Interestingly enough, he is also widely known to his fans off-field for his strong inclination towards partying.
Hence, when the Brazilian decided to join Flamengo in 2011 in his native country, he demanded for a rather unique “Night Club” clause to be added to his contract.
The clause allowed Ronaldinho two night-outs a week without any fines or repercussions.
12. The “Dodgy Knee” Clause
Manchester United made another surprising move in 2014 when they snapped up Radamel Falcao on loan with the option to sign him permanently at season's end for £43.5m.
The move, however, came after a serious knee injury had kept the Colombian out of action for the second half of the previous season.
This injury was taken well into account by Man United as they added a clause in the contract stating if the troublesome knee injury relapsed, the Red Devils had the right to terminate the loan deal.
