Real Madrid confirmed the loan signing of Jose Antonio Reyes from Arsenal, with striker Julio Baptista heading in the opposite direction as as a hectic day in the transfer market saw a flurry of late deals go through.
Reyes made no secret of his desire to head to the Bernabeu, and had not been selected by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger this season.
The winger - who joined from Sevilla in January 2004 and is under contract until 2011 - maintained he could not settle to life in England, and longed for a transfer home.
However, Gunners boss Wenger insisted the player would only be allowed to leave if the right deal came along - and last week branded an £8.1million bid from Atletico Madrid an "insult".
Wenger has, though, been a fan of Brazilian Baptista, 24, for some time, having tried to sign him a year ago before when the attacker instead opted for Real - a fact which made all the difference in the latest offer.
It is understood there are options to make both transfers permanent at the end of the respective season-long temporary deals.
The move was confirmed by Real Madrid on their website just after 2330 BST.
Reyes told Spanish radio station Radio Marca: "Now that I have signed, I feel like the happiest man in the world. However, until I had signed, I was not calm.
"On Wednesday evening I was told everything had been done.
"Arsenal gave the okay and Baptista was travelling to London - then I began to believe it."
Meanwhile, north London rivals Tottenham completed the signing of Pascal Chimbonda just before midnight.
Chimbonda left Wigan three-and-a-half months after stunning boss Paul Jewell with a transfer request in the dressing room at Highbury, after the final match of last season.
The 27-year-old France international full-back moved for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £6million, the fee Wigan have demanded throughout the summer.
Chimbonda told: "I always wanted to be here. For me it is a footballing decision. Tottenham is a great club where I hope I can play my best football."
Sporting director Damien Comolli said: "Pascal is a terrific right-back, solid defensively and good in the air. He is a complete player who can create chances offensively as well.
"I'm delighted that he has joined us, he is a player who really wants to be at this club and do well for us."
Tottenham also signed Fulham's wantaway midfielder Steed Malbranque for £2million in a deal that sees wideman Wayne Routledge join the Cottagers on loan.
The biggest deadline-day surprise was West Ham's signing of Argentina World Cup pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
The duo have both agreed permanent switches to Upton Park after the club agreed a fee with the company that own the players' transfer rights, Media Sports Investments.
The Hammers have beaten off a number of the world's top clubs to bring the pair to England, including Premiership trio Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Wigan signed Kevin Kilbane from Everton for an undisclosed fee and also brought in Bristol City's teenage Wales international David Cotterill for around £2million. As the deadline approached, they also snapped up Portsmouth striker Svetoslav Todorov on loan for the rest of the season.
Graham Kavanagh left the club for £500,000, and David Connolly departed for £1.9million, both joining Roy Keane's Sunderland, who also signed Manchester United midfielder Liam Miller on a free.
Sunderland completed six deals in all, with Dwight Yorke, Ross Wallace and Stanislav Varga also moving to the Stadium of Light.
Newcastle signed versatile Manchester City midfielder Antoine Sibierski, 32, on a one-year contract.
He joined Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi, who had earlier moved to Glenn Roeder's side on a loan deal until the end of the year.
Another experienced campaigner, 34-year-old Andy Cole, left Manchester City in a £500,000 deal taking him to Portsmouth, who also pounced for Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar from Hajduk Split for £3.5million and Sporting Lisbon winger Roudolphe Mbela Douala on a season-long loan.
Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce brought in PSV Eindhoven winger DaMarcus Beasley on a one-year loan.
Liverpool also did business with the Dutch side, selling full-back Jan Kromkamp - who joined the club in January - to PSV for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £2million.
Top-flight newcomers Sheffield United signed striker Colin Kazim-Richards from Brighton for £150,000 while Middlesbrough followed up the loan deal for Jonathan Woodgate with the purchase of Charlton's versatile Jason Euell.
Blackburn signed striker Shabani Nonda on loan from Roma for the rest of the season.