.jpg)
Gyokeres bought his own replacement for his ex-club, and it's already paying off?!
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 21.08.25. | 19:51
An unprecedented case in football happened in Lisbon, making everyone think who came out better after Gyokeres' transfer - Arsenal or Sporting?
After one of the longest transfer sagas in the June Transfer Window, Viktor Gyokeres joined Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon.
Still, the Portuguese side and the Swedish striker didn't have the best breakup, as the player refused to show up for Sporting's pre-season training in order to force a move to North London. Consequently, before leaving, he had to pay a €300,000 fine.
The Lisbon club then used that money to purchase a left-back, Ricardo Mangas, from Spartak Moscow. However, now comes the interesting part...
Even though he is a defender, Mangas netted two goals in as many games in the Portuguese top tier, so Gyokeres might have inadvertently bought his own replacement - in terms of efficiency, not position on the pitch - to his former club!
Viktor Gyokeres had to pay a fine of €300,000 for not showing up to pre-season training with Sporting.
— JAMES (@JamesTactics) August 20, 2025
Sporting signed left back Ricardo Mangas for €300,000
Mangas: 2 goals + Man Of The Match
Gyökeres: 0 goals + Subbed Off pic.twitter.com/dLLsl2u7sO
Moreover, Mangas is experiencing a much better start to the season than the Swede, especially after being named Man of the Match against Arouca four days ago. Conversely, the new Gunners striker clocked just 60 minutes in the opening Premier League round against Man United, failed to create a single chance or shoot towards the opposite goal, made only four passes, and won just three duels out of 13?!
And although it was just his first match, it was bad enough for Sporting fans to immediately start gloating and claiming that they came out better with Mangas than Arsenal did with Gyokeres, whom the London side paid €65.8 million.
.jpg)