With the January transfer window around the corner, we decided to take a look at six top footballers whose current deals will expire at the end of the current season, including the highest-paid player in Europe!
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It might be hard to believe, but the January window is only a month and a half away! Wrap your head around that one…
The 2023/24 campaign has been a cracking one so far, but we're approaching the time of the season again when fans scroll through social media to follow the latest transfer rumours! Some supporters believe their team desperately needs reinforcements right away, while others hope their team is already planning for when the season concludes, perhaps thinking the idea should be to draw up a list of footballers who could become available for free next year. It has seemingly become more common in this sport to see teams leaning on the free-agency market. Barcelona, who have been in financial ruins since the COVID-19 pandemic, have acquired top players such as Ilkay Gundogan and Andreas Christensen in recent years without paying transfer fees, a strategy famously almost perfected by Juventus some time ago. In 2021, Paris Saint-Germain signed both Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos for free.
Ahead of 2024, Croatian international Luka Modric is currently in line to become a free agent, with it appearing unlikely his story at Real Madrid will continue beyond the end of the campaign. The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner has been one of the best players of the last decade, but, at 38 years old and with the midfielder having essentially lost his place in the side to the younger and more explosive Jude Bellingham, it would seem his time in Madrid is approaching a natural end. From January, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man will be able to listen to proposals from other clubs and you can bet he'll receive more than one from Saudi Arabia again!
Staying in Spain, Athletic Bilbao could be at risk of losing promising Spain international Nico Williams, while Isco's current deal at Real Betis expires at the end of the season. The 31-year-old has been in fine form since returning to the field, which has been delightful to see considering the difficult way in which his Los Blancos ended last year. The Spaniard has certainly put his failed spell at Sevilla behind him and is playing so well, it isn't difficult to imagine him back in the national team! In Portugal, meanwhile, Angel Di Maria is close to entering the final six months of his contract. In the Premier League, Liverpool might be contemplating Thiago's future, with the former Barcelona midfielder's deal set to run out in June 2024. The 32-year-old hasn't played a single game for the Reds in this campaign and is one of the team's top earners, and therefore probably won't be kept on. Since joining the English giants in 2020, Thiago has missed 93 matches for club and country through injury.
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Lastly, this list wouldn't be complete without touching on Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, whose weekly wage of €1.3 million (R25.8 million) makes him the best-paid player in Europe. The 24-year-old will soon be allowed to discuss terms with potential interested parties, having decided earlier this year that he would not be extending his stay in Paris. Real Madrid and clubs in England have been linked with the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, though it remains to be seen where the France captain ends up. Mbappe committed to another two years at the French giants in 2022, against all odds, but the feeling at the moment is that this could be his last campaign in Ligue 1.
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