Blackburn Rovers were the winners from £17m Man City agreement: View

Fans of the Blackburn Rovers thought Roque Santa Cruz would be something unique as soon as he came at Ewood Park.

During his tenure in Lancashire, the Paraguayan was somewhat of a goal machine, as the former Premier League champions

flourished in the top division with their prolific scorer up top.

With the likes of Morten Gamst Pedersen, David Bentley, and David Dunn adding to the abundance of Barclaysmen in the starting

lineup, the newcomer from Bayern Munich earned quite the mark for himself in a Rovers team for the ages alongside Benni McCarthy

and Jason Roberts.

A shift to high-value spending However, Manchester City was unable to extract the finest performance from him, and Blackburn, who

are leaving with an eight-figure transfer fee, are now sitting pretty.

Roque Santa Cruz makes instant Blackburn Rovers impact

In the summer of 2007, Santa Cruz left Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich to join Blackburn, with the Premier League team at

the time reportedly paying £3.8 million for his services.

The new man made an immediate impression on the opening weekend of the season, scoring his first goal against Middlesbrough

minutes after being introduced, which was a promising omen of things to come.

The South American sensation was proving to be a menace both in the air and on land, and as a result, he was helping Rovers thrive.

Top flight sides just couldn’t seem to keep up with him.

Santa brought more than just the occasional gift to the celebration throughout the holiday season, and he further enhanced his image

with a 16-minute hat-trick, even though it was in a loss to Wigan Athletic.

The forward, who finished the season as one of the most in-form forwards in the nation, continued to enjoy his role leading the Rovers

line with eight goals in five games across all competitions.

From March onwards, it appeared as though the striker would score when the opportunity presented itself. He scored eight goals in

nine games, leading his team to a seventh-place finish. His best goals came against Manchester United and Wigan Athletic, including a

match-winning brace.

After that, the forward rose to prominence as one of the division’s most feared strikers, despite only scoring four goals in 20

appearances during his second season with the team due to injury.

Blackburn Rovers were still the winners despite losing Roque Santa Cruz to Man City

Manchester City was willing to spend big money in the summer of 2009 despite the Paraguayan’s recent history of injuries, and they

signed him as a sort of statement player to demonstrate their seriousness about doing business in the upcoming season.

After acquiring the Abu Dhabi United Group, City emerged as one of the wealthiest football teams globally, attracting a diverse range

of talent to the Manchester area. Notably, Rovers received a £17 million gift for a striker who had not yet found his best form a year

earlier.

And so it proved in the subsequent year, as the new signing scored three goals in his first campaign with the team despite missing the

start of the campaign because of his persistent knee ailments.

With players like Robinho, Carlos Tevez, and Craig Bellamy at their disposal up top, City wasn’t too concerned. In fact, at the time, the

team was eager to show off its strength in the transfer market, with players arriving left, right, and centre.

For the oil tycoons in command, £17 million was a drop in the ocean, and before long, Sant Cruz was back at Ewood Park, finishing the

campaign there thanks to a financing agreement in January 2011.

Although Rovers supporters would have been overjoyed, what they witnessed was but a shadow of the player who had destroyed the

league eighteen months before, and a career that was already.

With consecutive loan agreements, Real Betis and Malaga soon took a risk on the striker. In 2013, the latter team removed him from

City for free, citing his three goals in 20 games played for City as proof of a botched arrangement.

The soon-to-be Premier League heavyweights had a steep learning curve as they realised that clever recruitment is just as important to

success as money. Meanwhile, Rovers were left laughing all the way to the bank after selling a crippled striker for a hefty sum of

money.

There were no receipts or money-back guarantees, proving that the Ewood Park side had gotten the better end of the deal. The

evidence is there in black and white.

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