As the club season approaches it’s end, most of the football fans are left with their heads in their hands, thinking about the long, awful summer break without seeing their favourite team in action. The players, of course, welcome the breaks, even though they get increasingly shorter each year in favour of more matches, new tournaments, new formats, etc.
What helps us kill the time in those long, hot summer days are the transfer stories and rumours whose coverage has grown exponentially in the last couple of years thanks to social media and the rise of some journalists that have made a name for themselves, such as Fabrizio Romano who recently had a chat with us in our new ‘Guest end a half’ format.
Every summer brings it’s own story, and a lot of them turn out to be sagas spanning from June to September. This season, however, we’ve had quite a few deals getting sealed very early, and another few being very close to becoming official. This early into the transfer window, it’s usually the players who’s contract is expiring with the first day of July, so they were free to talk to other clubs since January. Today, we focus on those kind of deals, on players who switched sides, or are about to do it, on a free transfer.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool to Real Madrid
They’ve done it again! That seems to be the overall reaction of the footballing public to a deal that was really in the making for quite a while now. One of the world’s finest right-backs, Liverpool’s own Trent Alexander-Arnold decided to join his mate Jude Bellingham in Real Madrid. The nature of the deal split the Liverpool fans’ reaction’s – some even booed their footballer after he’d announced his departure from the club, as they felt that he hurt the club who could have at least got some money for his transfer.
To be fair, Liverpool didn’t stay completely empty-handed. Trent was set to join Los Blancos on the 1st day of July, which is when his contract expires, but Real Madrid really wanted to incorporate him to the squad before the upcoming Club World Cup, so they paid the Reds just under €11M to make that possible.
Liverpool wasted no time in the market either, as they’ve already made a deal for TAA’s replacement, paying around €30M for Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong. They are reportedly very close to reaching another agreement with Leverkusen, for their main man Florian Wirtz, with a fee that should go way north of €100M.
Leverkusen’s exodus stretches even further, with the creator of the miracle, Xabi Alonso, leaving to manage TAA in Real Madrid, but… there’s more
Jonathan Tah – Bayer Leverkusen to Bayern München
Much like Real Madrid, Bayern too have done it again! Their preferred transfer strategy throughout the years has been snatching up their Bundesliga‘s rivals’ top players, most of them for no transfer fee whatsoever!
Even though the talk of the town for quite a while was that the powerful German centre-back could join Barcelona, he ended up joining the Bavarian giants at the end of the season. All settled very quickly, and the first summer move done and dusted for Bayern. He takes the spot of Eric Dier, who left Bayern for Monaco, on… that’s right, you’ve guessed it, a free transfer.
Tom Bischof – Hoffenheim to Bayern München
In yet another move of the same category, the German champions added some midfield talent to their squad, arguably the most promising CM in the Bundesliga.
The 19-year-old midfielder enjoyed a wonderful season individually, even though it might not have been ideal on a team level. A very dynamic player that usually operates in between the No.6 and No.8 roles showed more than enough to attract major interest, and, in the end, earn himself a transfer to his country’s biggest club.
Maestros on the Move
2024/25 has, as every season does, seen quite a few heart-breaking, eye-watering farewells. Perhaps none more than those of the two midfield wizards that have dominated the pitches at the highest level for more than a decade – Luka Modrić and Kevin De Bruyne.
After more then 10 years of faithful service, 13, actually, in Modrić’s case, their time with Manchester City and Real Madrid has come to a close. They leave behind not only an unthinkable amount of memories and moments of pure inspiration, alongside the inevitable trophies, but they leave some huge gaps to fill. Not to mention the gap they leave on the pitch, but they also leave one in the hearts of their clubs’ fans, since they are both amongst the most beloved idols of their clubs.
They shall, as reports suggest, coincidentally finally co-exist in the same league. Italy’s pitches are in for a treat – as Kevin De Bruyne is set to reinforce Napoli’s title-winning squad, and Luka Modrić has agreed terms with AC Milan, starting a new project with manager Massimiliano Allegri.
More to come – stay tuned!
Huge moves could be on the horizon this summer, with a lot of teams looking for ways to further improve their already successful squads, or going for a complete overhaul. But, for now, let’s stay put and focus only on the players who’s contract is set to expire soon.
The biggest name on that list is definitely that of Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s rumored to be in the lookout for a new club, one that could allow him to participate in the upcoming Club World Cup.
Neymar is also on the list, as his short stint in Brazil is closing to an end, and it remains to be seen what’s next for him.
As far as the value of the players is concerned, LOSC Lille’s Jonathan David is set to leave on a free, even though there hasn’t been to much talk involving him thus far. Leroy Sané’s case is very similar, as him striking a renewed deal with Bayern seems more and more unlikely, he could be on the market for a very attractive price of €0.
All in all, we’re in for an eventful summer, both in the pitch and in the executives’ office as the new Club World Cup is set to kick-off in June! As always, Sofascore will be there to cover all the action and provide you with all the info you need as it happens!