While clubs spend a lot of money on transfer fees, a lot of transfers take place for free. This usually takes place when a player’s current deal expires with their club, and they agree a deal with a different club to join for no transfer fee. So, here are the free transfers which held the highest transfer market value.
10. Hakan Calhanoglu – Milan to Inter – €35m (2021/22)
Calhanoglu only recently joined the list of players to feature on both sides of the Milan derby. He admitted that Inter were the only club to give him the right amount of attention to make him make a decision of such magnitude.
9. Adrian Rabiot – PSG to Juventus – €35m (2019/20)
Rabiot featured for PSG before making the switch to Juventus and he has since established himself as a regular in their midfield. He is expected to play a big role next season as well.
8. Michael Ballack – Bayern Munich to Chelsea – €35m (2006/07)
At the time, the German was the highest paid player in the Premier League, earning €190,000 per week. He spent four successful years at Stamford Bridge before returning to former club Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
7. Aaron Ramsey – Arsenal to Juventus – €40m (2019/20)
Ramsey is currently the highest-paid British player on a base salary of £400,000 per week. According to numerous sources, Juventus are planning to offload him and free up their wage bill this summer.
6. Leon Goretzka – Schalke to Bayern Munich – €40m (2018/19)
The former Schalke star has established himself as a key part of the Bayern Munich midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich. He has been an excellent recruit for the Bavarians, and is expected to stay at the Allianz Arena for the foreseeable future.
5. Stefan de Vrij – Lazio to Inter – €40m (2018/19)
The former Lazio centre-back is now one of the first names on the team sheet for the reigning Serie A champions. He is now reunited with former Lazio coach Simeone Inzaghi after he was appointed as the replacement for Antonio Conte.
4. Memphis Depay – Lyon to Barcelona – €45m (2021/22)
Depay’s switch to Barcelona could have happened last year for a decent fee, but it instead happened this year for free. The player has reportedly taken a wage cut to help Barcelona accommodate him on their tight wage bill.
3. Robert Lewandowski – Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich – €50m (2014/15)
Lewandowski is arguably the brightest prospect to come out of Dortmund’s long list of talented youngsters. The fact that he made the switch to Bayern on a swap deal with Mario Gotze shows exactly how alluring the Bavarians truly are, and he is now one of the best number 9s of all time.
2. David Alaba – Bayern Munich to Real Madrid – €55m (2021/22)
Alaba truly won it all with the German giants, and rejected Bayern’s advances for a contract extension due to higher wage demands. He has now completed his dream move to Real Madrid and will be one of the starting centre-backs, reunited with former Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti.
1. Gianluigi Donnarumma – Milan to PSG – €60m (2021/22)
Donnarumma is the second-youngest goalkeeper to debut in Serie A. He was recently awarded the player of the tournament for Euro 2020, and has now been recruited by PSG until 2026. Milan failed to match his wage demands, and lost their brightest academy prospect for free to the French club.
