“Bolton Wanderers wishes to clarify that although Didi Hamann signed a contract with the club, he has since had a change of heart and will sign for another football club within the next 24 hours,” a statement on Bolton’s club website read .
16 years ago today saw one of the most remarkable spells by a player at a club when Liverpool legend Didi Hamann signed for Bolton Wanderers but spent less than a day with the Trotters before joining Manchester City. It led to denials of an agreement being reached, a Premier League investigation and Bolton receiving £400,000 in compensation for a midfielder who never played a game for the club.
This is the story of Hamann’s one-day stint as a Bolton player.
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After seven years and 283 appearances with the Reds, the German had been told by Rafa Benitez that he could move on after falling down the pecking order. Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso were excelling and Momo Sissoko had emerged, meaning Hamann made just 17 Premier League appearances in his final season at the club. The midfielder’s swansong was the memorable 2006 FA Cup final penalty shootout triumph against West Ham, with Hamann scoring his penalty.
Sam Allardyce, Bolton manager at the time, was looking for a proven international midfielder after losing both Jay-Jay Okocha and Ivan Campo. His side had reached the UEFA Cup knockout stages the season before and Hamann was seen as the perfect option. Being available on a free transfer, it was a no-brainer. The German had been a target for Allardyce the previous year, but had opted to stay at Anfield instead. In June 2006, Hamann had a medical with Bolton, signed a pre-contract and Allardyce thought he had his man.
He then headed off home to Munich to be with his family ahead of pre-season. However, just before heading to the airport, Hamann was sent out with Bolton’s player liaison officer, Matt Hockin, to get a feel for the town and everything changed.
“It was nice enough,” Hamann wrote in his autobiography ‘The Didi Man’. “Then as we were driving along the sky turned a deathly black. I've never seen a sky that black before. It was like something out of a biblical epic. Great drops of rain began to fall until, even with the wipers on super-fast, I could barely see where I was going. It made the whole place seem bleak.”
Doubts began to fester with Hamann and then he was informed that Man City were interested in signing him. It was also reported that during his trip around Bolton, Hamann had gone into a local Macdonald’s but couldn’t understand the Boltonian accent.
The German weighed up his options and informed Stuart Pearce’s side that he would join them, without explaining he already agreed a deal with the Wanderers.
Then on Tuesday, 11 July, Liverpool announced Hamann had joined Bolton, adding to the confusion. The aforementioned statement from Bolton then appeared on their website, explaining Hamann had reneged on his agreement and he would be joining another club within 24 hours, thereby lasting less than one day at the then-Reebok Stadium.
A day later, City announced his signing and the various storylines began. Hamann had originally denied that he had agreed to join Bolton, during the previous season when he was heavily linked, seemingly leaving his options open.
“We are neither united in an agreement nor have I signed something,” Hamann had told Sport 1.
“That is still open. Also, another entirely different club can come in for me. Anything is possible.”
After signing for City, it was confirmed they had paid Bolton £400,000 in compensation for Hamann as a result of the saga.
Upon signing, Hamann, who admitted he did pen a contract at Bolton, explained his change of heart.
"I had agreed to join Bolton, but I quickly realised that going to them would not be the right move for me," he told the City website. "I told Bolton my feelings immediately and they understood my decision.
"When I became aware of press reports suggesting that City were interested in me, I was excited at the prospect of joining this club and knew this is where I want to be. I am happy that the situation has been sorted quickly."
Pearce, City manager at the time, said he had spoken to Allardyce before pursuing Hamann. Also speaking to the City website, he explained: “We have agreed compensation with Bolton.
"I think they will be reasonably happy with that and we have a top-quality player. First off all I thought Didi would still be a Liverpool player and not available. But then his agent phoned me and my first thought was to make sure everything was clear at Bolton.
"We have to be seen to be whiter than white in a situation like this. That's why I rang Sam Allardyce and he gave me permission to talk to Didi.
"I am delighted he is here as he brings experience and leadership qualities to the team. He has everything.
Allardyce himself wasn’t pleased with the actions of the 59-time German international. "Hamann didn't tell the full story when he tried to get out of the agreement he had with us," Allardyce said.
Nevertheless, he took the blow relatively well and was delighted to have received the compensation fee. He said: "I am the only manager to get £400,000 for a player who never kicked a ball for the club.
"He and his agent resurrected interest in Bolton after we'd missed out on him 12 months before. Didi Hamann is a history breaker. This is the best transfer deal I have ever done in my life.
"Now my whole thought process is channelled to strengthening the squad here."
Bolton chairman at the time Phil Gartside joked that it was the easiest £400,000 he had ever made and said it was fantastic business for the club.
You could argue that Bolton and Allardyce had the last laugh as they finished seventh that season and qualified for the UEFA Cup, where they would reach the Round of 16. Man City finished 14th and then finished ninth and 10th in the subsequent two years of Hamann’s spell at the club.
His final year coincided with the takeover of City by Sheikh Mansour and what is now known as City Football Group. Hamann was released by the club in 2009, after making 71 appearances.
However, that wasn’t the end of the saga. In 2013, Garside bizarrely claimed on talkSPORT Bolton had never officially signed the midfielder and the necessary papers were ‘just put in the draw’. He also claimed they had duped City out of £400,000.
Gartside told Hamann in the talkSPORT studio: “The full story never came out. What you never realised was that we never actually countersigned the papers and just put them in the drawer. The next thing we know, you came along and told us you'd got this opportunity to go to Manchester City - so we actually sold you without actually signing you; did you know that? We got £400,000 from Manchester City for a player we never actually signed – and that's the truth."
This led to a Premier League investigation into the transfer. This found Hamann had definitely been registered as a Bolton player and there was no explanation as to why Gartside said his club tricked City out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The German has since apologised for his behaviour in the saga and in the same talkSPORT interview, expressed his regret to Gartside.
“I made a mistake, I hold my hands up and I want to apologise for all the aggro I caused. Big Sam is fine with it, and when I've seen him he says it was the best deal he's ever done because I never kicked a ball for them”
It wasn’t the last Hamann said on the topic, as he tweeted facetiously about the move in 2017. This came about after Hamann suggested Liverpool should sign Portuguese defender Pepe, who was leaving Real Madrid on a free transfer at the time. A follower had replied to Hamann and said: “Thought Pepe already signed a pre contract with PSG. Hamann responded with: “I signed a proper one at Bolton.”
In what was a frankly bizarre episode in which Hamann goes down as having one of the shortest stays at a club in history, the German will always be the Liverpool legend who spent less than a day at Bolton.
A version of this article was initially published in July 2022.
