Journalist names Fulham transfer debacle as “craziest moment of the year” – “Whole world” assumed it would happen

Joao Palhinha’s failed move from Fulham to Bayern Munich on deadline day of the summer transfer window was the “craziest moment of the year”.

That’s according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, who says the “whole world” assumed that the move would go through at the time.

Palhinha was on the verge of joining Bayern on the final day of the summer transfer window as the German giants moved at the last minute to get the number six that manager Thomas Tuchel has long wanted.

A deal looked like being completed as Palhinha was pictured in Munich undergoing a medical at the club’s facilities and even taking part in the standard promotional photoshoot with the club’s shirt and sponsors.

However, the move was cancelled at the last minute as Fulham refused to sanction the deal as they couldn’t source a replacement for their star man in the final hours of the window.

That naturally led to a lot of disappointment and even tears, but for Plettenberg and his team covering the Fulham man’s move, it was sheer disbelief.

“The whole world assumed that the deal would go through,” he said.

“But it didn’t happen and fortunately we haven’t reported a ‘done deal’ yet. We got the information in the live broadcast that the transfer was off the table.

“That was a crazy moment when I just think about the faces of Wolff Fuss and Didi Hamann- for me it was definitely the craziest moment this year.”