Few events could possibly outshine David Beckham's entry into the circle of the rich and beautiful in sunny California, especially as the former England captain left no less a club than the mighty Real Madrid. But in a wry twist, it is the Spanish giants' greatest and most bitter rivals who have succeeded in topping Becks' foray to Los Angeles with an even more dazzling transfer coup.
Henry leaves Beckham trailing
In the most recent FIFA.com user poll, a staggering 58.70 percent of respondents named Thierry Henry's decision to quit Arsenal for Barcelona as the most spectacular transfer of the close season.
The France international garnered more than twice as many votes as the new figurehead of the USA's Major League Soccer (MLS): Beckham's switch to L.A. Galaxy collected 22.86 percent of the vote.
Even more surprisingly, the 32-year-old midfielder, a truly global figure and supremely popular in the footballing world, only amassed 25.79 percent of the votes from English-speaking users, significantly behind the accord paid to Henry's decision to move to Catalonia.
The man who rates as the most successful striker in Arsenal's long history claimed 56.11 percent of the votes cast via the English channel of FIFA.com, although Beckham's move to Los Angeles was made public a number of months before Henry's Barcelona deal.
Torres beats off Italian pair
That could also be one of the reasons why French-speaking users of FIFA.com placed the Becks transatlantic adventure only third on 13.67 percent, while Spain striker Fernando Torres' departure from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool picked up 14.61 percent. Among users sharing his native tongue, the 23-year-old came third on 11.3 percent, with the Torres transfer also third overall on 11.27 percent of all votes cast, significantly adrift of Beckham.
The fourth and fifth most spectacular transfer deals ahead of the new campaign went to two current FIFA World Cup™ winners. In line with the post-tournament trend for Italy stars to abandon the Scudetto and seek trophies overseas, striker Luca Toni and attacking left-back Fabio Grosso have both opted for relatively unusual destinations. Toni has left Fiorentina and signed up for Germany's most successful club Bayern Munich, with Grosso bidding farewell to Inter Milan in favour of serial French champions Lyon.
Not unexpectedly, the Grosso deal came fourth ahead of the Toni switch in the eyes of French-speaking users, but German speakers rated the towering hitman's arrival in Bavaria as the third-biggest deal of the summer, even more significant than Torres' move to Liverpool, with Grosso relegated to fifth among this group. Overall, Toni finished fourth on 4.99 percent ahead of Grosso in fifth on 2.18 percent.
All eyes on Korea
Join in and cast your vote the next time FIFA.com sets out to uncover the latest opinions and trends. In our new poll, we're asking you to identify the favourites for the forthcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007. A glance at the starting field, packed with big names from South America and Europe and a host of potential surprise packages from North America, Africa and Asia, points to another exciting and intriguing users' poll.
Latest FIFA.com poll: Overall results
What is the most spectacular transfer of the new season up to now?
1) Thierry Henry - Barcelona (58.70 percent)
2) David Beckham - L.A. Galaxy (22.86)
3) Fernando Torres - Liverpool (11.27)
4) Luca Toni - Bayern Munich (4.99)
5) Fabio Grosso - Olympique Lyon (2.18)
