Premier League

11 of the best free transfers since 2000: Pogba, Campbell, Pirlo, Raul…

11 of the best free transfers since 2000: Pogba, Campbell, Pirlo, Raul...

For many years, Juventus were the kings of the free transfer, but Liverpool and Arsenal have also been able to enjoy some of the best freebies in recent seasons.

Recent seasons have seen huge names like Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos move on free transfers and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Antonio Rudiger and Ousmane Dembele out of contract this summer.

Football clubs now spend astronomical transfer fees on players, but there are still good-value deals to be sought.

Amid the chaos of the hundreds of millions, occasionally some of the best signings cost absolutely nothing at all. Here is a selection but certainly not all of the best free transfers of recent times.

Andrea Pirlo 

One of the most bizarre transfer decisions of all time occurred in 2011 when AC Milan allowed Pirlo to join rivals Juventus.

The legendary Italian midfielder went on to play 164 games for Juve, winning the league in each of his four seasons in Turin, while Milan, who had just won Serie A, had to wait over a decade before winning another Scudetto.

READ: 16 of the best quotes on Andrea Pirlo: ‘He speaks with his feet’

Sol Campbell 

It takes a brave man to make the move across north London, but that’s exactly what Campbell did when he swapped Tottenham for Arsenal in 2001.

It made him a hate figure among Spurs fans, but two Premier Leagues and two FA Cups to show for his time at Arsenal, he probably doesn’t care.

The former England international made 211 appearances across two spells for the Gunners in total and was an integral part of the famous ‘Invincibles’ side of 03-04.

Robert Lewandowski

Bayern must be a pain in the backside for Borussia Dortmund fans. They take all their best players year after year and sometimes even have the cheek to do it on a free.

It was the stubbornness of Dortmund that allowed this 2014 free transfer to happen in the first place, but you can’t really blame them.

Bayern had picked up Mario Gotze the…

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