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11 Footballers Who Went AWOL

11 Footballers Who Went AWOL

Neymar went AWOL at Barcelona to reportedly force a transfer in 2017

After Arthur refused to return to FC Barcelona recently, we take a look at a few other stars who went AWOL over the past few years.

Click through the gallery to see 11 stars who failed to show up at training and went AWOL.

Arthur is set to join Juventus next season, but he is reportedly unhappy at being forced out and has refused to return to training ahead of Barcelona's UEFA Champions League second leg last 16 tie against Napoli.

However, Arthur is not the first Brazilian to go AWOL at the Catalan giants, after Neymar pulled the same stint in 2017 to force his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar eventually got his switch to the French capital, but he reportedly still wants a return to the Camp Nou after mixed three years with PSG.

The Catalan giants do feature a lot on this list, but so do Arsenal after their former club captain Laurent Koscielny refused to travel with the team for pre-season last year.

The French defender remained in London in order to force a move to Ligue 1 outfit Bordeaux, where he made 25 league appearances this season.

Read: Official: Liverpool Drop New Nike Home Kit

Bafana Bafana international Percy Tau also failed to report for training in 2018 amid rumours of a move to Brighton and Hove Albion, but you can click through the gallery to see other players who went AWOL.

Can you think of any more players who went AWOL? Let us know in the comment section below.

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