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Usually, tons of money is required for a club to sign a top player. However, during the past 18 years, a wide list of exceptional signings costed absolutely nothing. Andrea Pirlo's move to Juventus, Raul's move to Schalke and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's move to Manchester United are only some of the best value-for-money deals in the past few years.
These free transfers, also known as 'Bosman signings', are evidence of the fact that a club can reinforce its squad with a player of outstanding quality without splashing the cash. Even though at the time of their transfer these players were valued a considerable amount of money, they ended up leaving their club as free agents only to bring enormous success to their new home.
After the Best XI whose contracts expire in June 2019 and the Best XI of currently available Free agents, here is the best squad of free transfers that have taken place from 2000 to 2018:
*Note: Players' transfers as part of swap-deals are excluded. Furthermore, the recent summer free transfers are also excluded
Goalkeeper: Brad Friedel
After a difficult period in Liverpool, Friedel left Anfield to join Blackburn Rovers as a free agent in November 2000. The Reds profoundly underestimated his value and they have since regretted letting Friedel go, having had put all their faith to Sander Westerveld, who eventually left the club a year later.
The American still holds the record of the most consecutive appearances in Premier League (310). Friedel stayed at Blackburn for 8 years featuring in 311 games. In his first year, he helped the club to get the promotion to the Premier League and contributed a lot to Blackburn maintaining its position in England's top league.
In one of the greatest evenings in the modern history of the Rovers, Friedel, with exceptional saves, led the club to the win over Tottenham in the League Cup final in 2002. His outstanding performance earned him the MVP award.
In another astonishing moment of his career, Friedel scored for his club against Charlton on February 2004. He became only the second portiere to ever score a goal in the Premier League with Peter Schmeichel being the first.
Right Back: Cafu / Dani Alves
Can a line-up feature two right backs? It can and it must if these two full-backs are two of the best in their position in the history of football.
Cafu joined AC Milan from Roma as a free agent in 2003. He was 33 years old at the time. The Brazilian legend stayed at San Siro until 2008 and during those years he managed to win almost everything. He helped the Rossoneri become Serie A champions in 2003-2004. Apart from this, he won 2 Super Cups,1 Supercoppa Italiana, 1 Champions League, and 1 FIFA World Club Cup as a player of Milan.
He is arguably one of the best right backs in the history of football known for his energetic and highly-attacking style of play as well as his stamina and his deadly-accurate crosses. Cafu is a member of both AS Roma and AC Milan's Hall of Fame.
Alves joins Cafu in the list of the best full-backs in football history. The Brazilian firstly signed for Juventus in 2007 as a free transfer after spending 8 years in Barcelona.
As a Bianconero, Alves won the domestic double in the 2016-2017 season and he appeared in his 4rth Champions League final but Juventus lost to Real Madrid. He was a regular in the Juventus line-up and made 33 appearances for the Old Lady, scoring 6 goals and proving 7 assists.
On June 2017, Alves and Juventus mutually agreed to end their partnership and the Brazilian joined Pari Saint Germain as a free agent a few days later. The 35-years-old defender has since won 5 domestic titles with the French club. He has featured 41 times for PSG, scoring 5 times and setting 10 goals up for his teammates.
Left Back: Maxwell
On January 2006, Maxwell's contract with Ajax expired and he was meant to sign for Inter. However, due to the Serie A non-Eu player registration rule of that year, he signed for Empoli for the remaining of the season only to be transferred to Inter in the next transfer window. A common policy for a transfer of a non-EU player in Italy.
He made quite an impact as a Nerazzurro. He won 3 Serie A titles and 2 Italian Super Cups during the 3 years he remained at Italy being one of the most crucial players for his club. His performances were excellent and attracted the interest of Barcelona who signed him on July 2009.
Center Back: Sol Campbell
One of the most, if not the most, controversial free transfer in the football history. Campbell left Tottenham after his contract expired in the summer of 2001 even though he was a product of their academies and the Spurs offered him a new contract which would make the defender the highest-paid player in the history of the club. In a move that provoked various reactions, Campbell decided to join Arsenal as a free agent.
Regarded as one of the best ever English defenders, Campbell went on to win 2 Premier League titles and 2 FA Cups with the Gunners. He joined Kolo Toure, Ashley Cole and Lauren in one of the best club defenses which lead Arsenal to the 2003-2004 Premier League title, with the team not losing once in the league. This earned them the nickname 'The Invincibles'.
Moreover, Campbell scored to give Arsenal the lead in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona even though the Catalans were eventually crowned champions. He is one of the only 6 English players to have scored in a Champions League final.
Center Back: Joao Miranda
Atletico Madrid hit the jackpot when they managed to sign Miranda on a free transfer in the summer of 2011. Miranda made a name of his own with his appearances at Sao Paulo and reached his peak during his time at the Spanish Capital.
As a Rojiblanco, Miranda helped his team win their first Spanish Liga title since 1997 in 2014. He was named the best defender of that season along with his teammate Filipe Luis and Real's Sergio Ramos. Apart from this, Miranda won 1 Copa del Rey,1 Spanish Super Cup, 1 Europa League, 1 UEFA Super Cup and he contributed to his team reaching the 2014 Champions League final where Atletico was defeated by rivals Real.
One of his highlighted moments as an Atletico's player was his winning goal against Real Madrid in the 2013 Copa del Rey final. His goal brought to an end the streak of 25 games during which Real remained unbeaten by Atletico.
Midfielder: Paul Pogba
Manchester United did not show a lot of faith in the talent of Paul Pobga and as a result, the Frenchman left England to join Juventus on a free transfer in 2012. He grasped that opportunity to unleash his full potential.
As a Bianconero, Pogba won 4 Serie A titles, 2 Italian Cups and 1 Italian Super Cup. He won the Golden Boy award in 2013 and he was voted 3 times as a member of the Serie A Team of the Year. He scored 34 times and provided 43 assists for the Turin club before Manchester United breaks the world-record fee to get him back in 2016.
During his time at Juve, Pogba established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world as his role in the club's domestic and European dominance was crucial.
Midfielder: Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo's sensational move from AC Milan to Juventus as a free agent in 2011 marked the start of Juventus dominance in Italy and the subsequent end of the Rossoneri's reign.
AC Milan's administration thought that Pirlo can not give anything more to the club and as a result, they decided not to renew his contract. Thus, the Maestro left Milan after 10 years to join rivals Juventus in 2011, winning 4 consecutive Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and 2 Italian Super Cups with his new club.
He was named 4 times as a member of the Serie A Team of the Year, 3 times Serie A Player of the Year, a member of the Europa League Team of the Season in 2014 and a member of the Champions League Team of the Season in 2015.
Midfielder: Esteban Cambiasso
Cambiasso's move to Inter is regarded by a lot of people as the best free transfer in the history of football given his role in the Nerazzurri's dominance from 2005 to 2010.
After he was seldom used at Santiago Bernabeu, the Argentinian left Madrid to join Inter as a free agent in 2004. He stayed there for 10 years, making 431 appearances. Cambiasso won 5 Serie A titles, 4 Italian Cups, 4 Italian Super Cups, 1 FIFA World Club Cup and of course the Champions League in 2010.
A versatile and dynamic midfielder, Cambiasso wrote history with Inter establishing himself as one of the most consistent, intelligent and influential players to ever wear the colors of the Nerazzurri.
Right Winger: Luis Figo
After a more than successful spell at Real Madrid, Figo joined Inter as a free agent in 2005 and spent 4 seasons in Italy.
Even though his performances as an Inter player cannot be compared to the ones he enjoyed as a Galactico, Inter found themselves a super-star with tons of experience, albeit with zero cost. Figo helped Inter win 4 Serie titles along with 3 Italian Super Cups and 1 Coppa Italia during the club's dominance in Italy from 2005 to 2010.
Figo remained at Inter until he retired on May 2009. It should be mentioned here that during his time at Inter, Figo was first used as a winger and later as an attacking midfielder due to the fact that he had lost some of his pace and speed.
Left Winger: Frank Ribery
Chaos was created when on June 2005 Ribery announced that he would leave Galatasaray to return to France in order to join Marseille. The reason was that the Frenchman had 3 years remaining at his contract with the Turkish side after they had paid three months earlier to make his loan move from Metz permanent. Ribery claimed that Galatasaray was late on his wages and as a result, his contract must be invalidated. After a court appeal, FIFA ruled in favor of the player and his contract with the Turkish was terminated.
Ribery joined Marseille on July 2005 as a free agent and he remained in France for two seasons during which he established himself as one the most promising and talented attackers in his time. During his time at Marseille, Ribery was voted as the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year 2006 and a member of the Ligue 1 Team of the Year in the same year.
He made 89 appearances for Marseille, scoring 18 times and proving 20 assists. His exceptional performances attracted the interest of Bayern Munich who signed him in 2007.
Striker: Robert Lewandowski
In the summer of 2013, Dortmund turned down Bayern Munich's offer for Lewandowski despite the fact that he had only one year remaining on his contract. Thus, the prolific striker joined the Bavarian side one year later as a free agent.
Nevertheless, his move to Dortmund's fierce rival did not seem to affect him. Up until today, the exceptional striker has featured in 157 games for Bayern, scoring 157 times. So far, he has won the Bundesliga title in every season as a Bayern player. He was named the Bundesliga Player of the Year in 2017 and he was the league's top scorer in the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 seasons.
Since he joined Bayern, Lewandowski has featured twice in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season and he is considered as one of the best, most completed strikers of his generation.
Substitutes
Goalkeepers
Julio Cesar (joined QPR from Inter in 2012)
Fabien Barthez (joined Marseille from Manchester United in 2004)
Defenders
Ashley Cole (joined Roma from Chelsea in 2014)
Roberto Carlos (joined Fenerbahce from Real Madrid in 2007)
Tomas Ujfalusi (joined Atletico Madrid from Fiorentina in 2008)
Midfielders
Sami Khedira (joined Juventus from Real Madrid in 2015)
Michael Ballack (joined Chelsea from Bayern Munich in 2006)
James Milner (joined Liverpool from Chelsea in 2015)
Mathieu Flamini (joined Arsenal from Marseille in 2004)
Jay-Jay Okocha (joined Bolton from PSG in 2002)
Gary McAllister (joined Liverpool from Coventry City in 2000)
Forwards
Raul (joined Schalke from Real Madrid in 2010)
Miroslav Klose (joined Lazio from Bayern Munich in 2011)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (joined Manchester United from PSG in 2016)
Henrik Larsson (joined Barcelona from Celtic in 2004)
Andriy Shevchenko (joined Dynamo Kyiv from Chelsea in 2009)
