Football is not the NBA.
We don't trade footballers like we "trade" basketball players in the prestigious North American league.
However, some football clubs may agree to simultaneous transfers.
This is what happened between Nice and Rennes on Thursday, before the transfer window closed.
Gaëtan Laborde left Brittany for the Côte d'Azur, while Amine Gouiri took the opposite route.
Two distinct mutations, but in fact, it looks like an exchange.
And this is obviously not the first time this has happened.
Back to some of these real-fake player exchanges.
Eto'o-Ibrahimovic in 2009: the most resounding
The deal involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o in 2009 is arguably the most impressive of decades, for several reasons.
The profile of the two men first: they were both among the best attackers in the world, with a strong ego.
With 25 goals in Serie A, the Swede had just brought Inter Milan to a third consecutive title.
As for the Cameroonian, he was coming off a resounding league-Cup-Champions League treble with Barcelona, scoring 36 goals in total.
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The amount of the operation then: in addition to Samuel Eto'o, the Catalans paid nearly 50 million euros, which then made Ibrahimovic the most expensive player in the history of the club.
Finally, the results: despite a flamboyant start to the season, "Ibra" had an average year in terms of statistics and never fully integrated into the Barcelona mold and the style of play advocated by Pep Guardiola.
Above all, the club was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by… Inter, where Samuel Eto'o, although less prolific than his rival, gleaned a new league-Cup-Champions League treble and flourished under the orders of José Mourinho.
“
Last season, the best striker in the world was Ibrahimovic.
Today, it's Eto'o
",
Sanchez-Mkhitaryan in 2018: the 100% Premier League that ends badly
A lose-lose exchange is rare.
But it happens... The one concluded between Manchester United and Arsenal in the winter of 2018 is a good example.
It concerns on the one hand Alexis Sanchez, who carried the Gunners at arm's length for four seasons and had desires elsewhere, and on the other Henrikh Mkhitaryan, landed in England after very good performances on the side of Borussia Dortmund but was not unanimous at Old Trafford.
Arsenal agreed to let the Chilean slip away to Manchester, where his experience would benefit talented young wingers Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford.
In exchange, they recovered the Armenian, whose flame they hoped to rekindle.
But for both players, the experience turned sour.
Between them, they have combined 104 matches for just 14 goals.
Sanchez, often injured, never justified his huge salary, when neither Arsene Wenger nor Unai Emery found the key to revive the enigmatic Mkhitaryan.
After a season and a half, both are pushed out, the first on loan to Inter, the second on loan to Roma.
Italy, the point of departure for these linked destinies.
Read alsoFoot: end of calm transfer window in Europe, Ronaldo without exit
Deco-Quaresma in 2004: the 100% Portuguese that ends well
On the contrary, some player swaps can turn out to be a good deal for both sides.
In the summer of 2004, Portugal was (almost) at the top of Europe: FC Porto won the Champions League in May, and the national team reached the final of "its" Euro in July.
Portuguese players are popular, and FC Barcelona saw themselves giving in to the fashion of the moment by poaching Deco, the centerpiece of Mourinho's Dragons.
The Catalans had managed to convince them by including, in addition to 15 million euros, the young Ricardo Quaresma.
The Lisbon native with devastating exteriors hadn't lived up to expectations since arriving at Camp Nou the previous summer.
Initially not very attracted by the idea of a return to the country,
Quaresma finally took full advantage of his time at FC Porto, where he gained both maturity and the right to try his export luck again, signing four years later at Inter.
As for Deco, he asserted himself as a hub for FC Barcelona and won a new Champions League with the Blaugrana in 2006. The change of coach in 2008, however, was fatal to him.
Pep Guardiola wanted to trust a promising young Spaniard, a certain Andrés Iniesta.
Note that Deco has kept close ties with Barça, he who placed his player, Raphinha, there this summer.
is affirmed as a hub for FC Barcelona and won a new Champions League with the Blaugrana in 2006. The change of coach in 2008, however, was fatal to him.
Pep Guardiola wanted to trust a promising young Spaniard, a certain Andrés Iniesta.
Note that Deco has kept close ties with Barça, he who placed his player, Raphinha, there this summer.
is affirmed as a hub for FC Barcelona and won a new Champions League with the Blaugrana in 2006. The change of coach in 2008, however, was fatal to him.
Pep Guardiola wanted to trust a promising young Spaniard, a certain Andrés Iniesta.
Note that Deco has kept close ties with Barça, he who placed his player, Raphinha, there this summer.
Read alsoLigue 1: final whistle for the transfer window, Paris and Marseille as the main animators
OM-PSG in 1991: the most surprising
Paris-Marseille, a strong rivalry.
It was still in its infancy in 1991. At the time, Bernard Tapie's OM reigned over football in France while the Canal+ version of PSG was only in its infancy.
It was then that the leaders of the two clubs agreed.
Jocelyn Angloma, PSG's best player, during the 1990-91 season, took over the management of OM, champion of France and unfortunate finalist in C1.
He imposed himself as an indispensable element on the Canebière, gleaning a championship title in 1992 and a C1 in 1993, before leaving Marseille after the OM-VA affair.
In exchange for Angloma, it was not one, nor two, but three players that the Marseille club sold to the capital club: Bernard Pardo, Bruno Germain and Laurent Fournier.
The third named became the
And also: Pjanić-Arthur (2016), Seedorf-Coco (2002), Carini-Cannavaro (2004), D.Luiz-Matic (2011), Roberto Carlos-Zamorano (1996), Cole-Gallas (2006)…
