ADIFFERENT BALL GAME
In 2010, NBA icon LeBron James decided to run down his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In doing so, he created an open market for basketball’s best player and one of the world’s most marketable sportsmen.
Just over a decade later, football experienced a similarly seismic situation, when one of its biggest stars became available as a free agent. Not only did Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona leave the club heartbroken, they also did not receive a cent from Paris Saint-Germain.
Granted, there were extenuating circumstances involved in that particular case, with the Spanish giants’ finances in disarray. Yet for the second year in a row, this summer’s biggest moves may not involve any transfer fees at all: World Cup winners Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba, and Juventus’ gifted forward Paulo Dybala top a star-studded list of soon-to-be free agents. Football’s transfer market, it seems, is changing.
Out-of-contract players moving clubs for no transfer fee
