Amidst the bizarre story involving Ronaldinho, a fake passport and the legend’s subsequent imprisonment, it was reported that the Brazilian footballing hero had a bizarre clause inserted into to his Flamengo contract.

It emerged that Ronaldinho insisted he had a ‘nightclub clause’ inserted into his contract during his time at Flamengo in 2011, which allowed him to have two big nights out a week.

The Brazilian club are believed to be so desperate to get the deal done that they agreed to it following the midfielder’s AC Milan departure.

So that got us thinking – what other crazy clauses have players had put in their contracts?

We’ve taken a look at the most bizarre contract clauses here…

Stefan Schwarz – Sunderland

The defender had once expressed an interest in becoming an astronaut so in an attempt to ensure he couldn’t explore that possibility further, Sunderland included a clause in his Stadium of Light contract that prevented any kind of space travel!

Dennis Bergkamp – Arsenal

This is probably one of the most known contract clauses, with Bergkamp’s fear of flying preventing him from travelling when the Gunners needed to use aircraft – it was even added as a clause in his contract!

Of course, you’d think that will have been an issue for a club regularly playing in Europe but he still went on to become an Arsenal legend, with his statue now standing proud outside the Emirates Stadium.

Rafael Van Der Vaart – Real Betis

This clause actually had nothing to do with what the player had demanded, and was actually as a result of Betis’ rivalry with Sevilla.

It was stated in the Dutchman’s contract that he could wear any boot colour he wanted apart from Red as that is the main colour of Sevilla.

I’m sure he didn’t mind.

Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien – Eintracht Frankfurt

The Congo international had made a name for himself with Karlsruher SC and as a result, Frankfurt wanted to sign him.

He was quite happy to make the switch but not before his potential new employers agreed to pay for his wife to learn how to cook!

They must’ve agreed because he went on to make 95 league appearances for the club, scoring 19 goals.

Madness.

Thiago Silva – PSG

As contract clauses go, this one isn’t that surprising but it’s still relatively obscure when you consider the level of control PSG wanted to have over their new signing.

The Brazilian was told he mustn’t make negative comments in public about the club, he must not express religious views that could harm PSG’s public image, he must always be courteous, friendly and accessible to PSG fans and also be perfectly behaved both on and off the pitch, showing exemplary attitude towards his teammates, opponents and referees.

I mean, a lot of that should be par for the course for most footballers, as well as anyone in society, but it’s crazy that they felt the need to write it into the defender’s contract!

Neymar – Barcelona

Obviously Neymar had a strange clause in his Barcelona contract – you wouldn’t’ expect anything less from the flamboyant Brazilian.

Upon signing for the Spanish giants, Barcelona agreed to fly Neymar’s friends to Spain every two months and even pay for all of their expenses!

Neil Ruddock – Crystal Palace

In an attempt to make sure Razor Ruddock kept himself in the best possible condition, Crystal Palace inserted a clause in his contract that restricted him from putting on too much weight!

Stig Inge Bjornebye – Liverpool

This contract clause is one that you would expect to see in most players’ contracts, especially in the modern game.

Given that the Liverpool defender’s Dad was an Olympic ski jumper, the Reds refused to let the full-back take up skiing every time he went back to his home country, Norway!

Giuseppe Reina – Arminia Bielefld

This is arguably one of the funniest contract clauses we’ve ever come across.

Reina demanded the club built him a new house every single year while he was at the club, but he didn’t make it clear what type of house he wanted built.

So, in an attempt to hold up their end of the contract, Arminia Bielefeld built him a different LEGO house for the three years that he was under contract!

Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid

How do you make sure no one else comes along and steals one of your best players? Especially after he’s just won the Ballon d’Or for the second time and was showing all the signs of getting even better?

Easy! You just include a ONE BILLION EUROS release clause into this contract to prevent anyone else from every being able to afford him.

That’s what Real Madrid did with CR7’s contract in 2013.

Mario Balotelli – Liverpool

In an attempt to ensure trouble maker Mario Balotelli stayed out of mischief, Liverpool included a ‘good conduct’ clause into his contract.

Did it work? We’ll let you be the judge of that!

Samuel Eto’o – Anzhi Makhachkala

Back when the Russia club had more money than they knew what to do with, they agreed to insert a ‘private jet’ clause into Eto’o’s contract so that he only ever travelled by private jet to matches!

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Arsenal

Ever wondered why Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s playing time was often restricted at Arsenal? Apart from injury, of course.

It’s because the Gunners had a clause in his contract that forced them to pay Southampton £10,000 every time he played 20 minutes or more!

So let’s do the math – of his 198 Arsenal appearances in all competitions, The Ox was on the pitch for a minimum of 20 minutes on 140 different occasions, which means the Gunners paid the Saints an extra £400,000 over the course of his Emirates tenure.

Doesn’t seem like a lot, does it?

Daniel Agger – Brondby

Upon signing for his hometown club, it was agreed that a poster of the centre-back’s face would be displayed around the stadium every time Brondby played at home.

Even if he wasn’t playing!