When the Bosman ruling came into effect on 15th December 1995, the world of football was changed forever. Before Bosman took his club RFC Liege to court for not allowing him to switch teams, there was no concept of a free transfer or a pre-contract offer, as we know of today.
Before this game-changing verdict, the buying team had to pay a transfer fee to the parent club even after a player’s contract had expired. This meant a double whammy for the player as the club held all the aces, even though the player was no longer contracted to the club.
This is why the Bosman ruling was such a game changer in world football as effectively, the players became the ones who now held all the aces in terms of negotiating a better contract or getting a move to a bigger club. In fact, players having 6-months remaining on their contracts can talk to other clubs, in what is termed a pre-contract negotiation.
The recent free transfers of Emre Can and Leon Goretzka to Juventus and Bayern Munich respectively being the case in points. Both players had effectively decided to run down their contracts at Liverpool and Schalke respectively in order to generate a move.
Therefore, there have been many cases where the clubs buying these free players have benefitted immensely. In this article we look at 5 of the best free transfers that have taken place in world football:
Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)
Most of the players on this list have either forced a move or left the club as they could not fit into the selling team’s philosophy. But what AC Milan did was nothing short of a crime.
At 32-years of age, Andrea Pirlo was considered finished at the San Siro. Although Pirlo’s legs were on a decline, the sharpness of his brain was still at its peak. That is what Milan underestimated and ultimately Juventus pounced on.
Termed by Gigi Buffon as the signing of the century, Pirlo helped the Old Lady usher in a period of success in which they have won 7 league titles on the bounce. The Italian maestro himself was involved in four Scudetti wins, making a total 164 appearances across four seasons before moving on to America and the MLS.
As the Rossoneri have faltered since Pirlo’s departure, the Italian himself got a new lease of life at Juventus, helping him prolong his international career too. As one of the biggest cases of underestimation, Pirlo will go down as the best piece of business Juventus did under the nose of their biggest rivals.
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Mario Gotze in 2013, Lewandowski in 2014 and Hummels in 2016. These are the three players who made their move from Dortmund to Bayern in a short space of four years.
While Dortmund received hefty fees for both Gotze and Hummels, Lewandowski made a move to the Allianz arena without costing a single penny. The man who had played a crucial role in both of Dortmund’s title triumphs had now joined their biggest rivals.
Although not as bad as the Sol Campbell transfer, Lewandowski also didn’t get a warm reception at the Signal Iduna Park. For the Polish striker, it was a decision well made as he has gone on to win the Bundesliga on four occasions, but the Champions League trophy still eludes him.
The Polish international is into his 5th season with the Bavarian giants, having scored 159 times in just 202 appearances. Lewandowski’s game has reached a new level since his move to Bayern, having won the Bundesliga top scorer award in three of his four seasons at the club.