Messi and Ronaldo could make up incredible free agent XI next summer

Premier League clubs smash transfer record with £1.9billion spend

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the stars set to become free agents at the end of the season. Both players will be eying moves where they could conclude their careers, though that isn’t the case for all of the players in the final year of their contracts.

Manchester United are amongst those who have a plethora of players due to leave the club at the end of the season, though they are largely all expected to be handed new deals. Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford – who has an extension clause in his contract anyway – are therefore unlikely to be available for free.

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, who recently won the Ballon d’Or, is also in talks to extend his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu. Though the same can’t be said for some of the following stars in the soon-to-be free agent XI…

Goalkeeper: Yann Sommer

Borussia Monchengladbach shot-stopper Yann Sommer has been a star in the Bundesliga over the past eight years, though that could now be coming to an end. The Switzerland international was offered a contract at United over the summer, with other clubs also interested in securing his signature. Monchengladbach want Sommer to sign a new deal with the club once more, but he is considering all of his options ahead of the January transfer window.

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Defenders: Hector Bellerin, Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Raphael Guerreiro

Inter Milan could be set to lose both of their central defenders at the end of the season, with Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij both yet to pen a new deal with the club. Paris Saint-Germain were interested in signing Skrinian over the summer, though Inter took the risk in rebuffing those offers in hope of convincing the player to remain at the San Siro.

Both Hector Bellerin and Raphael Guerreiro have been linked with remaining at their respective clubs, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, though formal talks do not appear to have begun.

Midfielders: N’Golo Kante, Youri Tielemans, Ilkay Gundogan

It remains a mystery as to whether Graham Potter will push for Chelsea to extend N’Golo Kante’s contract despite his injury woes, with PSG and United both keeping tabs on the Frenchman’s situation.

More of a certainty to depart appears to be Leicester’s Youri Tielemans, who has refused to pen a new deal at the King Power Stadium to date. The Belgium international has been a saving grace in the centre of the park for the Foxes, which will only add further competition to secure his signature at the end of the season – if he is not sold in January. Ilkay Gundogan is also weighing up his future at Manchester City.

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wilfried Zaha

After stropping down the tunnel in the victory over Tottenham last week, it feels like only a matter of time before United grants Ronaldo his wish of an exit from Old Trafford, despite Erik ten Hag publicly claiming that he remains in his plans. Though finding a potential suitor appears a trickier task for the former Real Madrid star rather than convincing the Red Devils to part ways with him.

Messi, on the other hand, is not short of options given that PSG want to extend his contract and Barcelona want their club legend to return. The Argentine international has refused to consider where his future lies until after the World Cup, which will certainly have PSG twitching given the speculation that Kylian Mbappe wants to leave as well.

Wilfried Zaha is the final piece of the puzzle for the XI, with Roberto Firmino and Marco Asensio just missing out. The winger has been the face of Crystal Palace since their promotion, though has pushed to leave the club previously and may finally see the summer as the ideal chance to seek pastures new once more.

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