Expiring contracts: Alaba, Ramos & Co. allowed to negotiate with other clubs now

From January 1, footballers with contracts expiring on June 30, 2021, can officially negotiate with interested clubs or already sign with a new club without having to take their current employer into consideration. And rarely has the choice of players for whom this is possible been as wide as it is this year. Internationally, the most discussed issue is likely to be what happens to Lionel Messi, unless he quickly makes a decision.

“I don’t know if I’m going to leave or not, but if I do, I want to leave in the best possible way,” the 33-year-old most recently said with regard to his expiring contract at FC Barcelona. After Messi already wanted to move on in 2020, it could now actually happen – after 16 years with the Catalans. The most concrete rumours have hinted in the direction of Manchester City, where the attacker would be reunited with former Barça head coach Pep Guardiola. Besides City, Paris Saint-Germain would probably be the only team that could satisfy Messi’s salary demands.

David Alaba’s contract with Bayern Munich is another topic that has recently caused a lot of discussions. It does not look like the 28-year-old defensive all-rounder will stay at his youth club, even though the Munich side have always left the option open for him. “FC Bayern has put everything on the line that was possible. But then you just have to accept that it wasn’t enough,” club boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently said in the Doppelpass show on Sport1. Possible destinations for Alaba: Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool – or another top club willing to meet his salary demands.

In their prime: Who will make a move for Calhanoglu, Depay & Co.?

Like Alaba, Memphis Depay of Olympique Lyon, Milan playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu and Florian Thauvin of Olympique Marseille are all in their prime – and are likely to be in demand due to their expiring contracts. Depay actually wanted to leave Lyon for Barcelona in 2020, but the Spanish champions were unable to pay the transfer fee and salary due to financial problems resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. In the coming summer, the cards will be reshuffled in this respect – provided Ronald Koeman remains head coach.

Calhanoglu is currently in negotiations with Milan and would like to double his annual net salary of €2.5 million. The former Bundesliga player has been in the form of his life for months and recently increased his market value to €35 million. Whether the Rossoneri agree to the demands remains to be seen, however. Most recently, the offer was “only” €3.5 million net, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. After all, Milan still need financial leeway to extend the contract with homegrown talent and top goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who also wants more money, and possibly to sign Thauvin. There has been interest in the Frenchman from northern Italy for months.

Veterans with expiring contracts: Ramos to move in addition to Messi?

Meanwhile, veterans such as Sergio Agüero, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sergio Ramos are hoping for what will probably be their last big contracts. If the captain was to leave Real Madrid after 16 years, this would probably have a similar significance in the Spanish capital as a potential departure of Messi in Barcelona. However, if Ramos decides to make the switch, it would have had far less of a long and negative prologue. While the market values of those experienced players have already decreased after the peak of their careers, Messi or Alaba might be able to break Robert Lewandowski’s record. The Bayern striker completed the most valuable free transfer in history when he joined the German record titleholders from Borussia Dortmund in 2014, boasting a market value of €50 million at the time.

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