European clubs spent almost €4.5 billion on players during the summer transfer window, but some top players didn’t cost a penny. Football Transfers takes a look at the 10 most valuable…...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
From Antonio Rudiger’s move to Real Madrid to Paul Pogba’s return to Juventus, millions of euros worth of talent has been available for next to nothing this summer.
The clubs for whom the transfers were intended may have factored agents’ fees and high salaries into the equation, but they could have spent more on both because it wasn’t an upfront payment.
Using Football Transfer’s sophisticated internal algorithm, we took a look at the 10 most valuable players who moved for free…
1) Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea – Real Madrid) – €50.6 million
German international Antonio Rudiger, a European and World Cup winner with Chelsea, was highly sought after due to his expiring contract at Stamford Bridge.
When Chelsea struggled at the end of Roman Abramovich’s ownership, Real Madrid saw an opportunity and signed the 29-year-old to a four-year contract.
“Yes, I have heard the abuse,” Rudiger later told the Players’ Tribune newspaper. “But I also felt the love. At the end of the day, the light was stronger than the darkness. That’s why I will always be Chelsea.”
2) Boubacar Kamara (Marseille – Aston Villa) – €47.6 million
Boubacar Kamara is slightly less experienced than Rudiger, but also much younger, and was a fantastic steal for Aston Villa.
The 22-year-old has been a good support in Marseille’s midfield for the past four seasons, sometimes as a central defender, and Villa should beat Manchester United in the race for his signature, with Steven Gerrard’s presence at Villa Park playing a big part.
3) Andreas Christensen (Chelsea – Barcelona) – €42.3
Poor Chelsea. Only one of their favourite trio from last season – Thiago Silva – is still at the club, as Andreas Christensen has followed Rudiger and gone to Spain for free, in his case to the other side of the Clasico with Barcelona.
“I grew up with Barcelona, Ronaldinho and Deco were my favourite players,” he said with much more bitter words for the Blues fans, “I’m very happy and have been waiting a long time for this day to come.”
4) Franck Kessie (AC Milan – Barcelona) – €41.6
Barcelona paid over €150 million for Robert Lewandowski, Raphinho and Jules Kounde this summer, but Christensen wasn’t the only player they got for free, as midfielder Franck Kessie joined from AC Milan.
The strong central midfielder from the Ivory Coast faces strong competition in midfield, with Pedri and Gavi recently signing new contracts with €1 billion release clauses and Frenkie de Jong not going to Manchester United after all.
5) Randal Kolo Muani (Nantes – Eintracht Frankfurt) – €40.7 million
Eintracht Frankfurt won the Europa League last season, but instead of wasting their newfound money they were smart in the summer market and bought one of Europe’s most promising strikers in Randal Kolo Muani.
Kolo Muani is only 22 years old and can take up several positions in the final third and his next step will be to break into the French national team, having won the U21 and Olympic trophies so far.
6) Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich – Borussia Dortmund) – €35.5 million
7) Ousmane Dembele (Out of Contract – re-sign for Barcelona) – €35.2 million
8) Paul Pogba (Manchester United – Juventus) – €31.6 million
9) Paulo Dybala (Juventus – Roma) – €28.4 million
10) Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester – Nice) – €26.4.
