10 best free agent signings in Premier League history

Esteban Cambiasso

Footballers aren’t cheap, to put it simply. We’ve reached an era in which the world transfer record is around £86 million (€100 million) and, when it comes to transfers in the top divisions, eight figured fees have become the norm. Teams don’t bat an eyelid about spending £10 million, £20 million and £30 million.

Every now and again, however, bargains can still be had – not least when players come to the end of their contracts with clubs and become free agents. It’s easy to think that clubs only allow that to happen to their poorest players, but that’s not always the case at all. For one reason or another, some great players have become available for free and subsequently moved to another club for no fee – and sometimes they end up performing brilliantly.

We take a look at the best free agents signings that have ever been made by Premier League clubs in England.

10) Esteban Cambiasso – Leicester City

Esteban Cambiasso

Former Argentina international (52 caps) Esteban Cambiasso has enjoyed an illustrious career that has seen him playing at clubs like River Plate in his homeland, Real Madrid in Spain and Inter Milan in Italy – the latter for whom he played over 400 competitive games. So when he became a free agent in 2014, having departed the San Siro side at the end of his contract, a glamorous destination looked to be on the cards, even if he was 34.

However, England’s newly-promoted Leicester City gave the defensive midfielder a chance to play in the Premier League in 2014 – and what a signing he turned out to be. He played in 31 of Leicester’s league matches in the 2014/15 season, playing an integral part in helping the team to comfortably – and surprisingly – retain their Premier League status by avoiding relegation in the final stages of the season.


9) Teddy Sheringham – Tottenham Hotspur

Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham

Teddy Sheringham is a Tottenham Hotspur legend, so it was disappointing for Spurs fans when he left for Manchester United in a £3.5 million deal in 1997. That being said, not even Spurs fans could begrudge the talented forward and genuinely nice guy the success he achieved at Old Trafford – not least in scoring the dramatic equaliser in United’s 1999 Champions League final victory.

However, when Sheringham’s four-year contract expired at United, he re-signed for Spurs for free and it was seen as a homecoming about which Spurs fans rejoiced – even though he was 35. Sheringham had rejected a new 12-month contract at Old Trafford and was still in good shape.

His return season coincided with the club's highest league position in six years – ninth – and he scored 26 goals in 80 appearances in all competitions in this second spell at White Hart Lane.

8) James Milner – Liverpool

James Milner
James Milner

This is the second (and final) entry on this list that is being taken on face value, as James Milner has only just signed for Liverpool and hasn’t yet played for the club (in fact, he doesn’t officially join until next month), but it really does look to be a great deal. The former Manchester City man’s contract had come to an end at the Etihad Stadium and the Reds swooped in to sign the England international for nothing.

Milner’s experience could prove to be invaluable at Anfield, especially in light of Steven Gerrard’s departure to MLS. The England international has won the Premier League twice, has 54 England caps to his name and is extremely versatile. To get that kind of player for no fee is a real coup for Brendan Rodgers’ men.


7) Youri Djorkaeff – Bolton Wanderers

Youri Djorkaeff
Youri Djorkaeff

In 2002, Youri Djorkaeff may have been 34 years old, but he had only won the World Cup and European Championships four and two years earlier respectively with the French national team (for whom he had scored 28 goals in 82 appearances). And he was hardly what you would call “past it”.

With that in mind, when his contract with Germany’s FC Kaiserslautern came to an end, it was quite the surprise when English side Bolton Wanderers managed to sign him for nothing. In his three seasons at the Reebok Stadium, he played 81 competitive games and scored 21 goals, bringing some real class to a side that also included the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Iván Campo.

He helped Bolton establish themselves as a Premier League side – including helping them to an impressive 8th place finish in his final season with the Trotters.


6) Gareth Barry – Everton

Gareth Barry
Gareth Barry

Gareth Barry has been one of the most consistent players of the Premier League era. In spells with Aston Villa and Manchester City, he made no less than 497 appearances and won the title with the Citizens in the 2011/12 season. Having been deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium, Barry initially joined Everton on loan for the 2013/14 season.

During that campaign he completed the most passes for any Everton player and helped the club amass a club record of 72 Premier League points to finish fifth in the table. It was, therefore, brilliant for Everton to sign him permanently for free in time for the start of the following season.

Barry’s contract at Manchester City had expired and he was released and, although Everton didn’t do anywhere near as well in the 2014/15 season, Barry was still an important and consistent player for them.

5) Kevin Davies – Bolton Wanderers

Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies

After making a name for himself in the lower leagues and the cups with Chesterfield, Kevin Davies was bought by Premier League club Southampton in 1997. He departed for Blackburn Rovers a season later, didn’t impress, and returned to Southampton just one season after that.

Having failed to impress again at St. Mary’s, he was loaned out to Millwall before being released by the Saints in 2003. When Bolton signed the 26-year-old free agent – seen as a failed Premier League player – it was hardly seen as a marquee signing.

However, it proved to be a shrewd move on the part of Sam Allardyce, as Davies would go on to become a key Bolton player. He scored 85 goals in 407 competitive games for the Trotters (74 in 351 league matches), became the club captain and even made his England debut as a 33-year-old whilst with the club.


4) Michael Ballack – Chelsea

Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack

From 1999 to 2006, Michael Ballack was one of the best players in Europe. He rose to true superstar-level prominence when he was part of the Bayer Leverkusen team that reached the 2001/02 Champions League final and subsequently earned a move to Bayern Munich.

He shone for Bayern – winning three Bundesliga titles – and reached a World Cup Final with Germany in 2002. In 2006, after some poor performances for the German giants, which were blamed on his contract coming to an end and him wanting to leave the club, he signed for Chelsea for nothing. In spite of interest from Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan, the German midfielder signed for the Blues – and he was still only 29 years old.

He played 166 games for the Blues, scoring 25 times, and won the Premier League, three FA Cups, a League Cup and a Champions League runners-up medal with the club before returning to Leverkusen in 2010.


3) Paul Scholes – Manchester United

Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes

This one’s a little different to the others on the list, as Paul Scholes had actually retired from playing football when Manchester United – the only club he had ever previously played for – re-signed the diminutive midfielder in 2012.

The former England international (Scholes had retired from international duty in 2004, after scoring 14 goals in his 66 caps) came out of retirement in January of the 2012/13 season to aid with an injury crisis at Old Trafford and helped the Red Devils regain the title from city rivals Manchester City.

He made 16 Premier League appearances in that final season, scoring once, but added his invaluable experience to the team and was a truly important factor in them winning the title. In total, Scholes made 718 competitive appearances for United, scoring 155 times.

2) Didier Drogba – Chelsea

Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba

Although Didier Drogba’s current spell at Chelsea hasn’t been the most impressive on a personal level, it really was a great deal for the club when they signed him in 2014 – after all, how many clubs in the world can say they re-signed the man voted their club’s best player ever for free?

Drogba’s contract at Galatasaray had come to an end and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho made the Blues’ fans happy when he swooped to bring the Ivorian striker back to Stamford Bridge. Drogba had scored 157 goals in 341 competitive appearances for the club in his first spell between 2004 and 2012.

Although he only scored seven goals in 38 appearances upon his return, he is a great man to have around when it comes to inspiring and influencing the club’s other strikers and younger players and it really was a dream return for everyone concerned – they won the title in his first season back, after all.


1 ) Sol Campbell – Arsenal

Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell

The transfer of Sol Campbell to Arsenal was one of the most controversial in Premier League history – but it was also undoubtedly one of the most successful. The controversy stemmed not only from the fact that he left Spurs to join their bitter North London rivals, but also because he did so for nothing, after allowing his contract at White Hart Lane to run its course – and he will forever be frowned upon as a “Judas” by the Lilywhites’ fans as a result.

Campbell went on to win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners and, memorably, he was part of the Invincibles team that went an entire season unbeaten in 2003/04. The backline of that team – which also included Jens Lehmann, Ashley Cole, Lauren and Kolo Touré – formed the defensive basis of that team and Arsene Wenger singled out Campbell for praise, describing him as “monstrous”.

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Edited by Staff Editor