Best Free Football Transfers

Usually football clubs pay huge amounts of money for the signings of players but sometimes they can make a bargain and get them for free. In the best free football transfers we find top players like Robert Lewandowski, Andrea Pirlo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic who all joined their new clubs for free. 

The biggest transfer saga of the summer was the possible departure of Lionel Messi who really wanted to leave FC Barcelona. Originally he could leave the club for free. But he should have told his desire of leaving by the 30th of June as per his contract. Due to the extended season he missed the deadline and stayed. But it is very likely that he will leave next season for free. Just like his former teammates, Andres Iniesta and Xavi did at the end of their careers. Several other players have done the same and joined another club for free before retiring. Some of them could play at the same or even better level at their new clubs and proved to be a great signing.

Sol Cambell’s signing by Arsenal is in the best free football transfers

The great English defender, Sol Campbell had been playing for Tottenham for 9 years when he decided not to renew his contract with the club. Instead he chose big rival Arsenal and joined them in 2001 for free. It proved to be a great decision as he won two Premier League and two FA Cup titles with the Gunners.Best Free Football Transfers He was a key member of the Invincibles team which won the league undefeated in 2004. So Arsenal definitely made a good bargain when they signed him. And even though Spurs fans could never forgive Campbell for his betrayal, probably he wouldn’t have achieved such successes at his former club.

Robert Lewandowski’s move to Bayern

Bayern’s top striker and a possible winner of this year’s FIFA Best Player Awards, Robert Lewandowski started his Bundesliga career at Borussia Dortmund. Bayern Munich noticed his great skills and wanted to get the forward in 2013. But Dortmund said no for the request as they just let Mario Gotze join Bayern too. So Lewandowski stayed for one more year when his contract expired and joined Bayern for free. Since 2014 he has scored 175 goals in 200 Bundesliga appearances, won six league titles and the Champions League. He is definitely in the best free football transfers as most Bayern fans would agree.

Liverpool’s surprise signing

James Milner has played for several clubs before joining Manchester City in 2010. He played brilliantly there but had to fight for a place in the team. So for most people’s surprise he left the club and joined Liverpool in 2015. Milner became the vice captain of the team and helped a lot to install the winning mentality at the club. He broke the record of the most assists in the 2017-18 Champions League season with nine, and won the UCL in the following season. Then it was followed by winning his first Premier League title with the Reds. Milner is still at the club and often helps out in emergency situations. Online sportsbooks in the UK favor Liverpool again to win the league ahead of Manchester City.

Zlatan’s move to United

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still one of the best forwards at the age of 39. He has played in literally almost every top league in Europe and even in the US. In 2014, at the age of 34 he was signed by Manchester United from his former club, PSG for nothing. A brilliant move by Jose Mourinho, the manager of United that time. Many thought that Ibra is too old and won’t have any real effect on the team. Well, he scored 28 goals in his first season, Including the winner in the 2016 Community Shield game against Leicester City. After missing most part of his second season due to injury, Zlatan left the club and joined the LA Galaxy for free. Followed by AC Milan last season where he also proved to be a key asset.

Pirlo’s switch to main rival

Staying in Italy, one of the greatest Italian players of all time, Adrea Pirlo joined Juventus for free in 2011. To let him go to their big rival was a very weird decision from AC Milan. His former club where Pirlo played for 10 years and achieved great successes. Like winning two Serie A and two Champions League titles. But in his last year he only made 17 appearances and was sidelined by new manager Massimiliano Allegri. So Pirlo decided not to renew his contract and moved to Turin. Where he had four more great seasons winning four more titles. He was also Player of the Year of the league twice in a row. While Milan couldn’t replace him and was struggling in the last few years until now.

Raul, a legend who chose the Bundesliga

One of the best Real Madrid players of all time, Raul spent 18 years at the Los Blancos. He became the most capped player of the club with 741 appearances. Also the second all-time top goalscorer with 323 goals. But at the age of 33 he said goodbye to his beloved club and took on a new challenge outside of Spain. Raul joined Schalke 04 and spent two years in the Bundesliga. He scored 40 goals in 98 appearances for the club. Proving that he can still play on a very high level. Schalke benefited greatly from Raul as well as they won the German Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

Paul Pogba

And finally, a very instructive story about Paul Pogba, who started his senior career at Manchester United. But after not getting playing time at the club, he joined Juventus on a free transfer in 2012. It was a bold decision from United. Who spent a then world record transfer fee of £89,3 million to buy him back from the Serie A champions in 2016. As during his four years in Italy, Pogba has become a top class midfielder. He won four Serie A titles with Juve and led them to Champions League final in 2015. But back in the UK Pogba is looking for his best form again. He might leave the club again but not for free this time. Online gambling sites in the UK mention Juventus as the favorite to sign him. But the names of Real Madrid and PSG have also come up.

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