Sunderland’s descent down the divisions to the third tier began in the 2016/17 campaign as they were relegated from the Premier League under David Moyes.
The Black Cats were unable to stave off the drop for another season, with Sam Allardyce having just about led them to survival in 2015/16, and they found themselves back in the Championship.
Midway through their relegation campaign, Moyes decided to cash in on centre-back Sebastian Coates, who was sold for a fee in the region of £4m to Sporting Lisbon. He spent the first half of the season on loan to the Portuguese giants, and the Wearside club opted to let him leave on a permanent deal instead of recalling him to bolster their survival hopes.
Coates had joined Sunderland from Liverpool in the summer of 2014, initially on loan, and made 32 appearances in all competitions before heading out to Lisbon. He had only played 24 times for the Reds prior to his switch to the Stadium of Light and failed to hit the ground running on Wearside, despite Dick Advocaat dubbing him “very solid” prior to his exit.
However, instead of offering him another chance to show what was capable of as they battled against the drop, Sunderland chose to sell him to the Primeira Liga outfit. This turned out to be a shocker of a decision, as the Uruguayan defender went on to flourish at his new club.
By the summer of 2019, Transfermarkt valued him at a whopping £13.5m. This is a £9.5m increase from the £4m that Sunderland got for his sale and shows that the club had a howler with the centre-back as they missed out on a bigger payday. Even to this day, he is worth a sizable £11.7m.
Instead of raking in a sizeable transfer fee or benefitting from his talents on the pitch, the Black Cats received just £4m for his services and suffered relegation to the Championship that year, which is why letting him go was a shocking decision, albeit with the benefit of hindsight.
To date, the Uruguayan colossus has played 275 competitive matches for Sporting and scored 28 goals from defence, winning one league title in that time. This shows that he has become a crucial player for the Portuguese giants over the years as they have relied on him as a consistent performer, with his soaring market value suggesting that he excelled on the pitch between his Sunderland exit and 2019.
What could have been…
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