Braithwaite's Barcelona transfer and other unusual football signings

Spanish champions Barcelona have made an unusual move in the transfer markey - by signing former Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite.

The Denmark international has signed from fellow Spanish side Leganes for a fee of £15 million.

Barcelona have been able to make this signing at such an unusual time of the season because they're going through an injury crisis, so they've been given special permission by the Spanish top division.

However, they've only been allowed to sign players who already play in Spain.

So, who is Martin Braithwaite and when else has a major club made an unusual signing? Here are some of the most unusual transfers in football history.

Who is Martin Braithwaite?

Braithwaite was at Championship side Middlesbrough just two years ago

Two years ago Braithwaite was playing in the English Championship for Middlesbrough.

He wasn't known for his goal-scoring ability and only managed to score nine goals in 36 games.

At the start of the season Braithwaite signed for Spanish top flight strugglers Leganes for £5 million.

Despite the club sitting second bottom of the league, Braithwaite was signed for Barcelona for £15 million, giving his former club a profit of £10 million.

Part of the reason for the unusual transfer was because so many of Barcelona's strikers are currently injured, including big hitters Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembélé.

Edgar Davids to Barnet

Fresh from playing for European giants like Barcelona, Inter Milan and Juventus, Edgar Davids decided he needed a change.

He decided to swap the bright lights of Milan for struggling mid-table Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur.

He loved his time in the capital so much that he decided to come back in 2012 to join League Two side Barnet as a player-manager.

It didn't go great for Davids and Barnet were relegated in his first season in charge.

Tevez and Mascherano to West Ham

Back in 2006, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were two of the most exciting young stars in the world.

So, it was quite a surprise when Premier League strugglers West Ham revealed that they'd won the race to sign the duo.

Tevez scored some really important goals which ultimately helped save West Ham from relegation.

However, the transfer turned out to be too good to be true and West Ham ended up having to pay Sheffield United - who were relegated that season - £20 million in damages.

Julien Faubert to Real Madrid

One of the strangest transfers in history involved the transfer of a West Ham player to Spanish giants, Real Madrid.

Julien Faubert had been at West Ham for five years when Real Madrid came calling.

When the news of the transfer broke, pundit Paul Merson famously said: "His agent should be knighted by the Queen."

Faubert's time in Madrid wasn't the fairytale he hoped for, only featuring twice.

During one match, he allegedly fell asleep on the bench.

Ali Dia to Southampton

The transfer of Ali Dia to Southampton goes down in folklore as one of the weirdest stories in football history.

The story goes that Ali rang Southampton manager Graeme Souness pretending to be world player of the year, George Weah.

'Weah' had been ringing Premier League managers saying he had a cousin called Ali Dia who was perfect for them.

Souness took the bait and within a few weeks Dia was a Southampton player.

He came off the bench in his first game and was so bad that he got substituted before the end of the match.

He was never seen in the Premier League again.

Attilio Lombardo to Crystal Palace

Where would you go if you'd just played in your second consecutive Champions League final? Crystal Palace of course.

Lombardo's transfer from Juventus to Premier League new boys Crystal Palace caught everyone off guard.

Even though he was a big hit at the club, he couldn't help prevent their relegation from the Premier League.