When Allan Simonsen signed for Charlton Athletic on November 13th, 1982, it was the equivalent of Kylian Mbappe joining Millwall.
The former European footballer of the year stunned everyone when he decided to leave Barcelona and - despite the interest of Real Madrid and Spurs - joined the second-tier South London outfit.
Simonsen was one of the most sought-after strikers of the 1970s and was part of a Borussia Mönchengladbach side who were considered to be one of the best in Europe - winning three consecutive Bundesliga titles, two UEFA Cups, as well as reaching the European Cup final in 1977.
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That same year, Simonsen was recognised by his peers when he became the first Danish player ever to win the Ballon d’Or, beating the likes of Michel Platini and Kevin Keegan to the illustrious award.
His achievements in Germany saw him sign for Barcelona in 1979 and Simonsen was top-scorer in his first season at Camp Nou.
However, it was far from a golden period for the Catalan club who struggled in La Liga and despite the Dane’s winner in the 1982 European Cup Winners’ Cup final, his days at Barca would be numbered with the imminent arrival of Diego Maradona.
At the time, Spanish league rules meant that only two foreign players could be chosen for a team’s starting line-up and it was made clear to Simonsen that German star Bernd Schuster wouldn’t be dropped and his choice was simple: settle for a place on the bench or leave the club - meaning one of the most lethal marksmen in the game was now open to offers.
But despite interest from top clubs in England and Spain, Simonsen shocked the world by agreeing to join Charlton after the Addicks made a £324,000 bid - double the amount Barcelona had paid for him three years before - with a contract worth a reputed £80,000 a year.
The transfer was the idea of then Charlton chairman Mark Hulyer, who saw the move as a way to try and fill The Valley and transform the club’s ailing finances at a time when just 6,000 fans attended games in a stadium that could hold 75,000.
Initially, the stunt appeared to have worked with 4,000 people turning up to watch Simonsen in a reserve game and more than 10,000 in attendance for a 3-2 league defeat to Middlesbrough.
On the pitch Simonsen had his moments too, scoring twice against Chelsea when Charlton were 2-1 down with 12 minutes remaining as the Addicks went on to win 5-2.
In total, the Dane scored nine goals in just 16 games for the south London club but they had trouble funding the transfer and wages and were plunged into financial difficulties facing a £145,000 tax bill, bankruptcy petitions and winding up orders from creditors.
Charlton had already paid half the fee to Barcelona up front but when the club could no longer afford his wages, Simonsen’s agent enacted a clause in his contract which allowed him to return to Denmark and his childhood club, VB, after just five months.
The signing of Allan Simonsen certainly put Charlton on the map but not in the way they had intended and, ultimately, almost led to their downfall - leading to the club’s eventual exile away from The Valley as they ground shared with Crystal Palace and West Ham before returning in 1992.
“I was very stressed in my time at Barcelona, so I needed to calm down with my family and have more time with them,” Simonsen explained in 2013.
“I had heard a lot of good things about Charlton at that time and Mr Hulyer, who was the chairman, wanted to build a new team around me as well.
“I thought it was a very good chance to try something completely new, that’s why I chose Charlton.”
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