Arsenal's transfer bid for Liverpool star, club chiefs' reaction and contract clause

Liverpool once went to ridiculous lengths to stitch Arsenal up in the transfer market as revenge for their controversial bid for Luis Suarez.

The Gunners infamously enraged their Premier League rivals by submitting a £40million plus one pound offer for the Uruguayan forward after mistakenly believing there to be a release clause in his contract. In actual fact, a bid north of £40m only obliged Liverpool to inform Suarez of the offer, but not to accept it.

In any case, Arsenal were embarrassed and Liverpool were offended, and the Merseyside club decided to get their own back two years later. While securing a deal for Roberto Firmino in 2015, the Reds included an £89m release clause in his deal, but there was a catch.

The terms of the contract stipulated that Arsenal were the only team on the planet who wouldn't be able to activate the clause. 12 months earlier, Liverpool had gone to similarly unusual lengths to keep another top player out of their rivals' clutches.

While negotiating the sale of Suarez to Barcelona in 2014, Liverpool demanded the inclusion of a clause which prevented the player from joining Manchester United directly from the La Liga club. It also banned him from signing for the Red Devils on a free transfer should his Barcelona contract expire.

Fast-forward four years and Liverpool were selling another top player, this time Phillipe Coutinho, to the Catalan giants. In a bid to stop the club from continuously raiding them for talent, the Reds negotiated a player premium clause in the Coutinho deal which forced Barcelona to pay a £89m fee on top of whatever sum Liverpool deemed fair for the player in question. The clause lasted for three years and effectively prevented Barca from poaching any more of their key stars.

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Other bizarre clauses include one insisted upon by Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho, who secured a provision in his Flamengo contract after moving from AC Milan in 2011 that allowed to him to go clubbing twice a week.

Meanwhile, Southampton cheekily included a clause in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's contract when he was sold to Arsenal in 2011. The Saints stipulated that they would receive £10,000 every time the Englishman played more than 20 minutes in a match - which might explain why Arsenal often brought him on with just 15 minutes left!