München – It is a phenomenon that has been occurring more and more frequently since the beginning of the Corona pandemic: Top players decide to let their contracts expire in order to then join another club on a free transfer – and still pocket a whopping bounty.
The hands of the clubs are usually tied in such a scenario, and FC Bayern is now very familiar with the situation. Last year, David Alaba left the club on a free transfer and moved to Real Madrid. This summer, Niklas Süle is going to Borussia Dortmund for free.
Within a year: Five Bayern stars are free transfers
Negotiations on salary failed again. “We made him an offer. He didn’t accept it and told us that he wanted to leave the club at the end of the season,” said Oliver Kahn in the spring of Süle’s departure. “There are certain framework conditions that we have to adhere to. That’s not how we came together.”
FC Bayern does not have this topic exclusively for a free transfer. It’s everywhere. That’s what this pandemic brings with it.
Within a year, the Munich team had to let five stars go free of charge. In addition to Alaba, this also applied to Jérôme Boateng and Javi Martínez last year, in which Corentin Tolisso is also in addition to Süle. In 2023, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry are threatened with the same scenario. If you add up the market values of the free transfers, you get a double-digit million amount in the upper range.
Two former world record transfers in the summer free of charge on the market
For Bayern boss Kahn, the explanation for the accumulation of cases in which players let their contracts expire is obvious: “FC Bayern is not exclusive to this topic on a free transfer. It’s everywhere. That’s what this pandemic brings with it,” explained the former world-class keeper. In fact, FC Bayern is not the only club that has lost tens of millions of transfer fees due to expiring contracts. Almost every top club in Europe is struggling with this phenomenon.
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DFB record player: Thomas Müller passes Philipp Lahm
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This summer alone, two former world record transfers are changing for free. Paul Pogba, who switched from Juventus to Manchester United in 2017 for the then record transfer fee of 105 million euros, will also leave his club after the end of his contract. Ironically, he is probably drawn back to Turin – a big loss for United in two senses.
Gareth Bale will also be without a club from July 1st. The Welshman switched from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013 for just over 100 million euros and won the Champions League five times with the royal team. In addition, the contracts of the two former top performers Marcelo and Isco are also running out, they will also leave the club. Where the trio is headed is still unclear.
Barca icon Lionel Messi also made a free transfer after the end of the contract
For their part, the Madrilenians themselves always benefit from free transfers. Last summer, Real snapped up one of the strongest central defenders in the world in Alaba, and this year Antonio Rüdiger will be signed by Chelsea after his contract expires. The international is one of five players with the Blues whose working paper ends at the end of June.
Theater around Robert Lewandowski leaves Bayern team-mate Thomas Müller cold: …
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Lewandowski destroyed his sporting monument at Bayern
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The most prominent player who has moved on a free transfer is Lionel Messi so far. He went from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain last summer because the Catalans could no longer afford to extend their contract with their club icon. A heavy blow from which the club and players have not yet recovered.
Ousmane Dembélé could follow him this year. The French winger was signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for more than €100m and will leave Barca once his first contract period ends.
This is a big problem for the clubs. They are – like Bayern currently with Lewandowski and Gnabry – increasingly faced with the difficult decision of either transferring players before the end of the contract or forgoing transfers altogether.
Mega-star Kylian Mbappé takes contract poker to the extreme
This puts players in a strong negotiating position, which they and their advisors are happy to exploit consistently. Ultimately, you can gamble extremely high in salary negotiations. If no agreement is reached, the player’s side still collects a considerable signing fee in the event of a move to another club, which often amounts to tens of millions of euros for top stars. In the end, the players are always on the winning side and the clubs are on the losing side.
The Lewy Zoff will continue for weeks
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The most absurd example is the case of Kylian Mbappé. The 2018 world champion also only had a contract until the end of June and provoked months of bidding between his club Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, who were also interested. In the end, the 23-year-old got one of the most lucrative contracts in football history and, according to media reports, had his signature alone cost 300 million euros when it was extended, plus bonuses of another 100 million and an annual net salary of 50 million euros coming.
These are dimensions from which even FC Bayern is still far away…
