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Weird Football Transfers

Julien Faubert: From West Ham to Real Madrid

Season 1, Ep. 3

In this episode of "Weird Transfers," the focus is on one of the most peculiar transfers in football history: Julian Faubert's move from West Ham United to Real Madrid. 


Julian Faubert is a former professional footballer who played as a winger. Born on August 1, 1983, in Le Havre, France, Faubert began his career at Cannes before moving to Bordeaux in 2004. He gained recognition for his performances at Bordeaux, which led to a transfer to West Ham United in 2007 for a fee of 4.3 million pounds. Faubert's time at West Ham was marred by injuries, limiting his playing time to just 32 appearances in 18 months.


With Real Madrid in need of a winger, Faubert emerged as a surprising target. In the final days of the 2009 transfer window, Madrid signed the Frenchman after their failed pursuit of Antonio Valencia.


Despite the initial excitement, Faubert's time at Real Madrid was far from glamorous. He made headlines for the wrong reasons, including missing training and apparently dozing off on the bench (both of which were taken out of context).



Faubert returned to West Ham after making only two appearances for Real Madrid. He went on to play over a hundred times for West Ham before embarking on spells in Turkey and Indonesia.



Faubert's career highlights include representing the French national team and playing in the Champions League.



Producer: Sumit Sharma (https://www.sumitsharma.co.uk/)

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