Skip to main content
FourFourTwo FourFourTwo FOOTBALL NEWS, FEATURES, QUIZZES
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of 대한민국
대한민국
flag of Türkiye
Türkiye
  • Soccer Cleat Buying Guides
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Video
  • Features
  • Quizzes
  • Clubs
  • More
    • Interviews
    • The Magazine Archive
    • Subscribe
    • Lists
    • How to watch
    • About
FourFourTwo Magazine
FourFourTwo Magazine
Why subscribe?
  • Fascinating feature articles, covering everything from grass-roots football to the international scene
  • 'ACCESS ALL AREAS' pass to exclusive interviews with the biggest and best names in the game!
From$29.99
View
Trending
  • WATCH the UCL
  • Transfers
  • Interviews
  • Messi
  • Ronaldo
  • EPL
Recommended reading
Wimbledon players celebrate their FA Cup final win over Liverpool at Wembley in May 1988.
Stories ‘People were naked all the time in the Crazy Gang – that was the punishment for anything: birthdays, scoring a goal, winning a game. You’d get stripped’ Dean Lewington takes us inside the Wimbledon dressing room
Owen Hargreaves
Stories ‘I was never the same after all the injections and operations at Manchester United – I was in constant pain. I never realised just how dangerous my injury had been’ Owen Hargreaves opens up on the injuries that derailed his career
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a header for Barcelona against Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome.
Football The Greatest Football XI of All Time - according to FourFourTwo
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium on May 22, 2022 in Manchester, England.
Quiz Quiz! Can you tell us who this iconic Roy Keane quotes were about?
FourFourTwo's Odd One Out quiz
Quiz Quiz! Can you get 100% in our expert-level odd one out quiz?
Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar leaves the pitch at the end of first half during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match FC Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain FC at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on March 8, 2017.
Quiz Quiz! Can you name the 50 biggest transfers ever in football?
Thomas Muller
Quiz Quiz! How many of these football icons were one-club players?
  1. Features

10 of football's maddest medicals, starring teething trouble and too much sex

By Greg Lea published 4 June 2018

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Mad medicals

Mad medicals

It’s become part of the transfer ritual. Players about to join a new club will be photographed on a bed or exercise bike, flashing a thumbs-up while a doctor fiddles with the sensors attached to his chest.

Pre-signing check-ups aren’t just a box-ticking exercise, though, and a number of deals have fallen through due to a fault discovered in one of the many tests conducted. In this slideshow, we pick out 10 of football’s maddest medicals.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Abou’s move off amid suggestions of cannibalism

Abou’s move off amid suggestions of cannibalism

“The lad went home to the Ivory Coast and got a bit of food poisoning. He must have eaten a dodgy missionary or something.”

Those were the words of West Ham manager Harry Redknapp, at his politically correct best, after Samassi Abou’s move to Bradford was called off in 1998. The striker complained of stomach pain during his once-over with the Bantams, and the transfer was duly aborted when he failed his medical. Dr. Redknapp was some way off with his diagnosis, though: poor Abou actually had malaria.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Kamel gets the hump with turncoat Rovers

Kamel gets the hump with turncoat Rovers

After a tasty season with Celta Vigo, Algerian hotshot Kamel Ghilas was all set a move to Blackburn in 2009 when Rovers apparently had a last-minute change of heart. Cue claim and counter-claim.

The Lancastrian club said Ghilas failed his medical; Celta Vigo claimed Rovers tried to renegotiate his fee and wages at the 11th hour. A vexed Vigo even fielded the striker in a friendly the following day to prove he was fit, but Blackburn refused to budge and stuck with their original line. Ghilas later joined Hull, scoring just one goal in 13 league outings.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Gillespie puts his ankle in, puts his ankle out

Gillespie puts his ankle in, puts his ankle out

Keith Gillespie’s move from Newcastle to Middlesbrough in 1998 was called off at the last minute. The Northern Irishman turned up at the Riverside Stadium for a pre-season tournament expecting to be unveiled, with manager Bryan Robson even hailing the signing in a press release.

Cue embarrassed back-tracking straight after the final whistle when Gillespie’s dodgy ankle was revealed. Magpies boss Kenny Dalglish was pleased with the news, though, having not been informed that the winger was being sold.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Asa doesn’t have the Hart to join Leeds

Asa doesn’t have the Hart to join Leeds

There was nothing simple about West Brom midfielder Asa Hartford’s proposed switch to Don Revie’s Leeds in the 1971. The deal was already done when the results of a medical revealed Hartford had a potentially career-threatening hole in his heart. Fat chance – the super-fit Scot went on to play until he was 41.

“A move to Leeds was like a dream, the best team in the country,” Hartford said. “I trained with Albion on the Friday morning and then had a medical and that's where the problem came up, they discovered I had a hole in my heart. It was literally a pinhole, but I ended up playing 800 games so it wasn’t that bad!”

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Fourth time lucky for Hartson

Fourth time lucky for Hartson

“There is the possibility that the medical might not go well,” said Rangers chairman David Murray, fearing the worst as John Hartson prepared for his check-up ahead of an anticipated transfer to the Glasgow giants in 2000.

The striker, who had already failed medicals at Tottenham and Charlton, was again denied a move due to his results. He joined Celtic a year later instead, going on to score 109 goals and win three league titles with the Bhoys. “The best medical I’ve ever failed,” the Welshman said, but Rangers supporters probably disagree.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Hinchcliffe told: you’re not hired

Hinchcliffe told: you’re not hired

Even when he was plain old Alan Sugar, the Apprentice star was known for his ruthlessness – just ask Andy Hinchcliffe.  The England left-back was on the verge of a £3m move to Tottenham in January 1998 when Spurs chairman Sugar reportedly stepped in to prevent manager Christian Gross misspending any more of his cash.

Rumour has it Spurs even sent Hinchcliffe the bill for the medical, while Sugar eventually filled the left-back void with the signing of Paolo Tramezzani, an Italian journeyman who racked up just six Premier League appearances before leaving for Pistoiese.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Ravel a bit wrong in the tooth

Ravel a bit wrong in the tooth

Former Manchester United prodigy Ravel Morrison has been involved in a number of controversial incidents in his short career, leading to him being labelled ‘temperamental’, ‘chaotic’ and ‘bizarre’ during his short career. Just don’t call him ‘toothy’.

Before passing a medical to join Birmingham on loan in 2012, the then-West Ham midfielder required emergency treatment to have seven gnashers removed after complaining of toothache during a pre-season tour of Germany. Morrison was subsequently advised to have dental implants costing £28,000 – so make sure you brush twice a day, kids.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Crocked Motta plays up at Pompey

Crocked Motta plays up at Pompey

Motta called time on his playing career at the end of the 2017-18 campaign having won 14 major trophies in his six years at Paris Saint-Germain. Life wasn’t always so easy for the former Italy international, though. Back in 2008, the ex-Barcelona midfielder was between clubs after Atletico Madrid withdrew their offer of a new deal following a troubled season in the treatment room.

Wily Harry Redknapp was on hand to offer the then-26-year-old a fresh start at bank-busting Portsmouth, only for Motta to fail a medical at Fratton Park thanks to his dodgy knee. He failed another at Racing Santander, and started the next season without a club – but he returned via Genoa to play for Inter and PSG.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Three's a charm for Ruud

Three's a charm for Ruud

It took a year of waiting and three medicals, but Ruud van Nistelrooy's transfer to Manchester United was probably worth the wait, considering he then bagged 150 in 219 games. Alex Ferguson had been set to land the free-scoring PSV hitman for £18.5m in summer 2000, when a press conference was called to welcome the Red Devils’ new man.

Instead, though, the press were told that the move had been held up due to worries about the Dutchman's fitness. Days later he ruptured cruciate ligaments in training and the deal was held off for a year, but not before he failed another medical test a month before his eventual signing.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Frank shows the ladies his worth

Frank shows the ladies his worth

Frank Worthington’s aborted move from Huddersfield to Liverpool in 1972 is the stuff of legend. After failing his medical due to high blood pressure apparently caused by having too much sex, Worthington was sent to ‘calm down’ in Majorca.

While there he continued to enjoy “the fruits of being young” – namely (in no particular order): Miss Great Britain, a Swedish mother and daughter, and an unnamed Belgian beauty. He returned, failed the medical again, and joined Leicester instead.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
TOPICS
Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United John Hartson Celtic Ravel Morrison West Ham United Birmingham City Leicester City Tottenham Hotspur Everton Celta de Vigo Blackburn Rovers Bradford City Thiago Motta Portsmouth Racing Santander
Greg Lea
Greg Lea
Social Links Navigation

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).

Read more
Wimbledon players celebrate their FA Cup final win over Liverpool at Wembley in May 1988.
‘People were naked all the time in the Crazy Gang – that was the punishment for anything: birthdays, scoring a goal, winning a game. You’d get stripped’ Dean Lewington takes us inside the Wimbledon dressing room
Owen Hargreaves
‘I was never the same after all the injections and operations at Manchester United – I was in constant pain. I never realised just how dangerous my injury had been’ Owen Hargreaves opens up on the injuries that derailed his career
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a header for Barcelona against Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome.
The Greatest Football XI of All Time - according to FourFourTwo
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium on May 22, 2022 in Manchester, England.
Quiz! Can you tell us who this iconic Roy Keane quotes were about?
FourFourTwo's Odd One Out quiz
Quiz! Can you get 100% in our expert-level odd one out quiz?
Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar leaves the pitch at the end of first half during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match FC Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain FC at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on March 8, 2017.
Quiz! Can you name the 50 biggest transfers ever in football?
Latest in Lists
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 30: Laura Woods, TNT Sports presenter before the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal FC at City Ground on January 30, 2024 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Women's Euro 2025: Who are the ITV presenters, pundits and commentators?
BBC Sport Presenter, Alex Scott, reacts prior to the Barclays Women's Super League match between Everton and Manchester City at Walton Hall Park on December 15, 2024 in Liverpool, England.
Women's Euro 2025: Who are the BBC presenters, pundits and commentators?
The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time: Florian Wirtz is unveiled as a Liverpool player after his signing at AXA Training Centre on June 20, 2025 in Kirkby, England.
The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time
2026 World Cup stadium guide: General view during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 semifinal match between Canada and Argentina at MetLife Stadium on July 09, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
2026 World Cup stadium guide: The full list of venues
The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time: Florian Wirtz is unveiled as a Liverpool player after his signing at AXA Training Centre on June 20, 2025 in Kirkby, England.
The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time
Ranked! The 10 best strikers in the world
Ranked! The 10 best strikers in the world
Latest in Features
Tim Howard in action for Everton in 2012
Quiz! Can you name every Premier League player with between 80 and 100 goals?
Women's Euro 2025 predictor
Women's Euro 2025 predictor: Play with our interactive prediction game
Esther Gonzalez plays against Leah Williamson and Alex Greenwood during the UEFA Women's Nations League 2024/25 Group A3 match between Spain and England at RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on June 3, 2025.
Women's Euro 2025 fixtures: The full schedule
Newcastle United 2025/26 third kit
The Newcastle United 2025/26 third kit is out - and this is one of the Magpies' greatest-ever efforts
Quiz! Can you name every English player nominated for the Ballon d'Or since 2000?
LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 18: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates with the World Cup Trophy after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina (3) and France (3) (Argentina win 4-2 on penalties) at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
2026 World Cup: Every team to have qualified
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is a serial winner
    1
    Manchester City looking to bring star back from Saudi Arabia in shock move: report
  2. 2
    Newcastle looking to new €100m striker in serious statement of intent: report
  3. 3
    Arsenal given breakthrough on Benjamin Sesko 'agreement', with final price revealed: report
  4. 4
    Quiz! Can you name every goalkeeper with 50 or more Premier League clean sheets?
  5. 5
    Liverpool star Harvey Elliott ready for sale, with price set following Euros: report

FourFourTwo is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About FourFourTwo
  • Advertise with us
  • Worldwide
  • How to pitch to FourFourTwo

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...