Without a team and with the letter of freedom under his arm after the end of their contracts this Thursday, June 30, the list of renowned players who will be able to change airs without being tied to a club is long.
Paul Pogba, Paulo Dybala, Ousmane Dembélé, Christian Eriksen, Luis Suárez, Ángel Di María or Isco Alarcón are just some of the names that in a few hours will not have any kind of tie. This is the list:
Pogba, contaminated by the slump of Manchester United
It seems like a century has passed since Paul Pogba completed one of the best seasons of his career. Specifically, this was 2018/19, in which he signed the abusive amount of 16 goals and 11 assists. Since then, he has gone downhill, just like United, which this year has signed one of the most decadent courses of its recent times.
At 29 years old, Pogba still has football to share, but he must recover from a disastrous year marked by two muscle injuries that separated him from 18 official matches. His time in the infirmary, coupled with his team’s disastrous campaign (without titles and out of the Champions League), left the French midfielder with shocking numbers: he only played 27 games in which he scored a goal.
(Also read: Gustavo Petro responds firmly: will there be Formula 1 in Barranquilla?)
Now, his destination will probably be his former team, Juventus, where he hopes to recover his best version.
Paulo Dybala, eclipsed by Vlahovic
“No to Dybala’s renewal, it’s a decision made.” This is how the CEO of Juventus, Maurizio Arrivabene, confirmed the departure of the Argentine player from the club, who after seven seasons in the Italian entity, will have to find another destination to, at 28 years old, boost his career.
The arrival of Dusan Vlahovic in the winter market convinced the Juventus leaders that their player was no longer needed. Dybala will not lack ‘girlfriends’ to continue his career. He will say goodbye to Juventus with 293 official matches behind him, 115 goals and 12 titles.
The one who is going to be his former club recognized his work and fondly bid the Argentine striker farewell: “These seven years together were not only about goals and victories, but there were flashes of skill, unforgettable nights and performances of absolute quality. Good luck , or rather: good luck, Joya!”
Isco and a slow decline
Nine years ago, Real Madrid signed one of the most promising Spanish players of the time. At just 21 years old, from Málaga, he appeared at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium wearing the Golden Boy, an award for the best European footballer under 21 years of age. And for many seasons, she did not disappoint.
In his first five courses, without being the undisputed starter, he was a key player with a lot of weight in the white team. However, since 2018, with the arrival of Santiago Solari on the Real Madrid bench, Isco’s decline began, and he practically disappeared from the lineups. Later, Zidane tried to recover the player from Malaga, but was unsuccessful. Ancelotti, with whom he played at a high level in his first stage, either.
This season, he has barely been a starter three times and, at 30 years old, he will look for a destination where he can once again leave the sparkles that not long ago amazed the public at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
Kessié and Christensen, heading to Barcelona?
Franck Kessié will no longer belong to Milan and Andreas Christensen to Chelsea. Both are at a very good age, 25 and 26 years old, respectively. The first, he did not feel valued in the Italian team, champion of Serie A with Kessié as a great pillar in midfield. The second, after five seasons at Chelsea, also wanted a change of scenery. Both, if there are no surprises, will strengthen Barcelona next season.
(Also: Shakira and Piqué: reveal the ‘queen test’ of the footballer’s infidelity)
Dembélé, the renewal-soap opera
Signed in the 2017/18 season, his time at Barcelona has been marked by injuries and absences more than by his brilliance on the pitch. However, his more than evident quality pushed the Blaugrana club to continue Dembélé’s contract, who was invited to leave the club after rejecting the offer.
Xavi Hernández himself did it with a well-remembered phrase: “Either renew or leave,” he said as he disappeared from the calls. In the end, he did not leave the club and with the hatchet buried, Xavi trusted Dembélé, who in the last stretch of the course was one of Barcelona’s best. So, the tug of war began again to try to renew a player that Xavi now considers key. At the moment, there is no solution to a case that seems entrenched.
Eriksen, recovered by Brentford
After collapsing from cardiac arrest during the last European Championship, Danish Christian Eriksen went through a long period of recovery before stepping on the pitch again. Finally, he found a place at Brentford, a team that was promoted to the Premier League last season and that opted for the former Inter player to tie up his permanence.
The bet was risky. No one knew how Eriksen was going to function after the collapse. Brentford played it and won. During the eleven games that Eriksen played in the English club, he proved to be fully recovered and was a fundamental piece to ensure permanence. Now, after his contract ends, and at 30 years old, he will change his mind despite Brentford’s attempts to retain him.
Di María, destination Qatar 2022
At 34 years old, Ángel Di María still has a lot of football in his boots. Although Paris Saint-Germain had an option to extend his contract, they did not make it effective and at the end of the course they informed the Argentine player that he was not going to continue at the club after seven years, 18 titles and 294 games in which he scored 91 goals and gave 111 assists.
Di María, in addition, achieved the record of the French entity for goal passes in the same course in the League: 19 in the 2015/16 season. Still at full capacity to play in the elite, he will look for a powerful destination to have options to participate in the World Cup in Qatar. Juventus could be his destiny.
Luis Suárez, before the worst numbers of his career in Europe
After scoring 13 goals this season and receiving an emotional tribute from Atlético de Madrid and its fans, Luis Suárez wants to continue in the battle. And more, when Uruguay will play the World Cup and the 35-year-old striker from Uruguay wants to participate in what would be his fourth World Cup.
He will have to find a team to recover his best level after signing the worst statistics of his career in Europe. After losing the confidence of Simeone (starting in 26 of the 45 official matches in which he participated), he scored fewer goals than ever since he arrived in the Netherlands from Uruguay.
His negative record was in the 15 goals he scored at Groningen, precisely in the course of his arrival, in 2006/07. The previous year, still in the National, he celebrated 12, the lowest number of his career. Now, he wants to get the best stats back from him.
In addition to the players already mentioned, the list of players ending their contract is long: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Luiz Felipe (Lazio), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), David Ospina (Naples), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Rome) or Cristian Tello are just a few more of the large number of names that will seek their place in the market with the freedom card.
SPORTS
with Eph
#figures #international #football #free #Colombian