Clubs fight back vs. players

Alexis Sanchez was about to play in a crucial World Cup qualifying match for Chile in Santiago when he learned his potential transfer from Arsenal to Manchester City had fallen through.

Philippe Coutinho played — and scored — for Brazil in Porto Alegre while likely knowing his dream move to Barcelona from Liverpool was not going to happen.

Riyad Mahrez left the Algerian national team’s training camp in Sidi Moussa in a bid to tie up a transfer from Leicester that never materialized.

Diego Costa, it seems, remained on virtual strike at his family home in Lagarto, eastern Brazil, as Chelsea fought hard for last-minute signings, without allowing its one-time star striker to leave.

The effects of the closing of Europe’s summer transfer window on Thursday spread well beyond the continent, leaving some of the world’s most high-profile players disillusioned and facing awkward returns next week to clubs they no longer want to play for.

In many cases, this was the transfer window when clubs struck back against the growing phenomenon of so-called “player power.”

In the English Premier League, Coutinho, Mahrez, Costa and Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk all put in transfer requests amid interest from other clubs. None of them got their moves away, with their teams bringing in so much revenue these days — mainly through record broadcasting deals — that they no longer need the cash from player sales.

Liverpool even turned down a reported bid of $150 million from Barcelona for Coutinho. Most pundits are in agreement that the Brazil playmaker isn’t worth that much, however fine a player he is.

Of course, some players did get their own way. Ousmane Dembele went missing at Borussia Dortmund, while being the subject of bids from Barcelona, before finally securing his move to the Camp Nou. It was reported that Monaco accepted a bid of 100 million euros ($120 million) for Thomas Lemar from Arsenal, only for the player to turn down a move reportedly because his prospective new club wasn’t in the Champions League.

In the last minutes of the window, England midfielder Ross Barkley also rejected the chance to join Chelsea from Everton, against the wishes of both clubs. /