When starting a new save in Football Manager, signing fresh players to improve your first team squad is probably one of the first things on your to do list. While it’s not always easy to recruit your preferred transfer targets, it can be especially tough when you have little to no transfer budget available to make changes happen.
That’s where free transfers come in… Since the introduction of the Bosman Ruling in the mid-nineties, players have been free to move onto a new club once their contract has expired, without their previous club receiving a transfer fee for their services. On top of this, pre-contracts can be agreed within six months of the players contract expiring, and this has presented a great opportunity for clubs to sign players without expensive transfer fees, and for players to negotiate better contracts with clubs.
There have been some big free transfers over the years, including Sol Campbell’s Judas-like transfer between north London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal, Robert Lewandowski winding down the clock on his deal at Dortmund before moving to Bayern Munich, and more recently Aaron Ramsey from the Arsenal to Juventus. While most of the players on this list don’t quite have the quality of the aforementioned players, in many cases they can still be first team players or add extra depth to your squad to help you handle the demands of your first full season. Check out our list of the best available free agents in Football Manager 20 below:
Goalkeepers
Emiliano Viviano
Country: Argentina
Age: 33
Jordan Archer
Country: Scotland
Age: 26
Fabiano
Country: Brazil
Age: 31
Defenders
Fabio Coentrao
Country: Portugal
Age: 31
Slobodan Rajkovic
Country: Serbia
Age: 30
Alexander Milosevic
Age: 27
Position: DC
Country: Sweden
Ivan Strinic
Age: 31
Position: D/WB/M L
Country: Croatia
Ignazio Abate
Age: 32
Position: D/WB R
Country: Italy
Philipp Wollscheid
Age: 30
Position: D C
Country: Germany
Midfielders
Lucas Silva
Age: 26
Position: DM
Country: Brazil
Yoann Gourcuff
Age: 32
Position: AM C
Country: France
Riccardo Montolivo
Age: 34
Position: DM
Country: Italy
Stephen Ireland
Age: 32
Position: AM C
Country: Ireland
Diego Poyet
Age: 26
Position: DM
Country: Uruguay
Jack Rodwell
Age: 28
Position: DC, DM
Country: England
Gabriel Torje
Age: 29
Position: AM RLC
Country: Romania
Emre Colak
Age: 28
Position: AM LC
Country: Turkey
Diego Capel
Age: 31
Position: AM L
Country: Spain
Attackers
Wilfried Bony
Age: 30
Position: ST
Country: Ivory Coast
Giuseppe Rossi
Age: 32
Position: ST
Country: Italy
Hatem Ben Arfa
Age: 32
Position: AM RC, FC
Country: France
Paulo Henrique
Age: 30
Position: AM RL, ST
Country: Brazil
Marcus Pedersen
Age: 29
Position: ST
Country: Norway
So there you have it, our comprehensive list of the best footballers available for a free transfer in FM 2020. If you’re looking for value for money players who add depth to your squad, look no further than these solid players.
