Who are the best free agent transfers this year?

The race to sign the best players in the world is made more interesting when some huge names are available for free. This year, there are plenty of well-known players whose current contracts are running down, so where will they end up playing in the future?

Lionel Messi (PSG)

Following Argentina’s World Cup win in Qatar, fans have been wondering where Messi will go once his contract at PSG ends this summer. The initial speculation suggested that he would go back to Barcelona or head to the MLS in the US but more recent reports have linked him with a lucrative move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, with Sergio Busquets also expected to move there on a free transfer from Barcelona.

While he will turn 36 years old this summer, just about every club in the world would love to have Messi in their ranks. Thanks to his enormous commercial appeal and the fact that no transfer fee is involved, he’s expected to get a massive wage on his next deal. Messi’s father Jorge is also his agent and according to Euronews, he said that the player won’t be deciding his future until PSG’s season ends.

Marcus Thuram (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

This French forward is currently one of the most sought-after players in the world, with his contract in Germany running out soon. He’s been part of the French national team for a couple of years and cost Borussia Mönchengladbach €12 million when he joined from Guingamp in 2019.

The latest rumours have seen Thuram linked with major clubs such as Manchester United, Barcelona, Newcastle, and Inter Milan. It was mentioned in the January transfer window that Chelsea was interested in signing Thuram and with their huge summer rebuild coming up it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Stamford Bridge team back in for him. However, journalist Jonathan Johnson believes that PSG might sign Marcus and his brother Khephren.

Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)

Another player who has been linked with some of Europe’s top teams, Adrien Rabiot is a member of the French national team and spent most of his career with PSG before heading to Juventus on a free transfer in 2019. Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs are among the teams most strongly linked with Rabiot although he was reported to be considering a new contract offer from Juventus earlier in the year.

With six domestic title wins from his time in France and Italy, what are the odds on him helping a new team to win their league next season? The Sportingtech website explains how betting sites works, with the latest official data used to calculate odds on thousands of events every day. Bearing this in mind, we can expect to see the odds change as the biggest free transfers like this are confirmed, as Rabiot’s arrival would instantly boost most team’s chances of silverware and the betting software would pick this up.

Other Names to Look Out for

Players like Daley Blind at Bayern Munich, Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace, and Youri Tielemans at Leicester are a few of this summer’s other free agents expected to be in demand among the elite clubs. While some deals might go through early in the summer, don’t be surprised to see a few transfer sagas taking twists and turns until the window ends.