Hundreds of professionals
©TM/IMAGO
Around six weeks after the transfer window closed in the major European leagues, hundreds of footballers are still listed as out of contract. Some, like the most valuable of this squad, Oumar Solet (24; moves to Udinese), have to wait until the beginning of January because they only received their status without a club after the end of the transfer period. Others, like Christoph Kramer (33), could sign with a club immediately. Since this has not happened to date, the 2014 world champion will also be devalued alongside the other professionals without a contract as part of a market value update.
The most valuable footballer without a club remains the former Salzburg player Solet, who signed with Udinese Calcio in Italy from January until 2027. In the summer, Hoffenheim, among others, tried the French central defender, but the medical check failed. In mid-September, Solet terminated his contract in Salzburg, which no longer had plans with him. Its market value drops by 2 million to 8 million euros.
After the update, there are still 51 unemployed players worldwide with a market value of at least one million euros. After a decline from 1.7 million euros to 1.2 million euros, Kramer is one of two Germans in the million dollar range. At the beginning of September he was rather pessimistic about looking for a club: “I’m still really keen on football! When something interesting comes along, I listen to everything. (…) I’m no longer really optimistic that anything else is coming. So I wouldn’t place a bet on it. But who knows what will happen next…” The former Mainz resident Alexander Hack (31), who has dropped from 1.8 million to 1.5 million euros, is also in Saudi Arabia after his one-year interlude with Al-Qadsiah. Arabia still without a new club.
From Sergio Ramos to Choupo-Moting: market value loss for those without a club
There are also other big names without – as things stand – a secured future in professional football: Dele Alli (28; -1.5 to 3.5 million) is continuing to work on his comeback after a year-long injury at former club Everton. Sergio Ramos (38; -0.7 to 1.8 million) has been linked to clubs in Saudi Arabia and the MLS, among others. In the TM community, Real fans expressed one or two wishes that Ramos could act as a replacement for the seriously injured Daniel Carvajal (32). Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (35; -0.7 to 1.8 million) was recently told that he wanted to continue playing at the top level and was waiting for a corresponding offer.
Among the most valuable contractual players, the biggest loss is for ex-Monaco captain Wissam Ben Yedder, who drops by 50 percent to 4 million euros. The former France international striker is currently facing charges of sexual harassment under the influence of alcohol. Before the incident, according to his lawyer, he was in negotiations with some clubs.
Former Bundesliga professional Jean-Paul Boëtius (30; -0.3 to 0.4 million) is looking for a club again after recovering from cancer. In the Transfermarkt interview at the end of August he said: “The four months of chemotherapy have ended and I have been back in full training for two and a half months. Of course, it’s good news that we achieved the result we set for ourselves at the beginning. I look ahead. I’m up for it again, I’ve got new energy and I want to show that on the pitch.”
This is how transfer market market values work
The transfer market market values are created taking into account various pricing models as well as a strong involvement of the transfer market community, which deals with the values in detailed discussions. The transfer market market values cannot generally be equated with the transfer fees actually paid.
The goal is not to predict a price, but rather an expected value. When determining the market value, both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant to a certain extent. Examples of this will be here listed. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (for a detailed definition of market value).
