Portuguese football has a serious problem with players at the end of their contracts, who leave without any financial compensation for the clubs. The article discusses how this reality particularly affects domestic clubs, which lose valuable assets without receiving anything in return.
The most recent case mentioned is that of Leon Goretzka, who left Bayern Munich to sign for Aston Villa on a free transfer. The German player, who was a regular starter for the German giants, took advantage of the end of his contract to change clubs without Bayern receiving any fee for the transfer.
Baltasar Serpa analyses in this article why free deals are, paradoxically, the most expensive in the market. The central idea is that, although there is no transfer fee, clubs signing these players pay high salaries and agent commissions, making these agreements financially heavy.
The phenomenon of free transfers has been growing in recent years, both in Portugal and throughout Europe. Clubs find themselves forced to compete with million-euro offers to keep their players, which is not always possible from a financial standpoint.
