From a Saturday Night Fever-inspired video to a bizarre Lionel Richie-theme, it has been a creative time for signings
Sometimes it’s best not to overcomplicate things. The former Atalanta playmaker Alejandro “Papu” Gómez loves a dance (his hit single Dance Like the Papu went viral in 2017) and Padua is an absolutely gorgeous city in northern Italy, so this Saturday Night Fever-inspired transfer announcement video for the Argentinian that showcases both works a charm. In what feels like a high-quality production, the 2022 World Cup winner struts around the city in 1970s clobber: a leather jacket, an enormously lappelled shirt and a vintage pair of Copa Mundials, all to the sound of the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive. The context of this transfer to the Serie B side is that Gómez is finishing a two-year doping ban after taking a banned substance, which the now 37-year-old claimed came from his son’s cough medicine. Gómez, fifth on the all-time list of Serie A assists, continues to train independently but can start training with his new Padova teammates on 19 August.
A slightly different one in that this was not an announcement video but a farewell, as Bryan Mbeumo issued an Interstellar-themed message to Brentford supporters before his move to Manchester United. This could have gone badly wrong (and the thought of another Interstellar-themed video in the future where Mbeumo is shouting “Don’t let me leave, Brentford” to himself is a tempting one) but the Cameroon forward pitches it perfectly here, as he recreates the incredible scene where Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, looks back over years of messages left by his children. There are some heartfelt moments in Mbeumo’s video: his first Brentford goal, his special relationship with supporters and teammates and his memories of Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League. “6 years that felt like 6 minutes,” reads the accompanying caption to the video. “It’s time to take off and to leave the Bees Planet. But before I go, I want to thank all of you. It was an incredible journey full of emotion, smile, laugh and you made every moment very special. You’ll always have my heart. We’ll meet again in this dimension and in the others.”
