play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upSport|FootballBenzema, Pogba, Sancho and Sterling: What now for football’s free agents?Ex Real Madrid and Manchester Untied stars, Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho, among post-deadline free agents.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoPaul Pogba and Karim Benzema of France celebrate with the UEFA Nations League trophy in 2021 [Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]By Kevin HandPublished On 3 Sep 20263 Sep 2026The transfer window in Europe may have shut for the summer, but a number of well known players could still make major moves.
Even though the next transfer window doesn’t open until January, players without a contract are still able to be signed by clubs in Europe…and indeed across the globe.
Al Jazeera takes a look at who could still be snapped up – and for free.
The rise and fall of Paul Pogba will forever be one of the great frustrations of his fans and the clubs he played for.
The 33-year-old served an 18-month doping ban to March 2025, but injuries have meant he has played little football since and his contract with Monaco was terminated last month.
The Frenchman joined Monaco on a two-year deal from Juventus last summer, but the 2018 World Cup winner with France played only six games for the French club.
A fellow World Cup winner alongside Pogba – and a former Ballon d’Or winner – Karim Benzema is also hunting for a new club. The 38-year-old’s contract in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Hilal was terminated on Monday.
Benzema moved from Real Madrid in 2023 to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad, where he spent three seasons and was only six months into his Al-Hilal contract.
A host of new signings, including Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa, pushed Benzema down the pecking order. Much as Pogba is likely to do, Benzema is set to look elsewhere in the Saudi league, as well as contemplating Major League Soccer in the United States.
Once regarded as one of English and European football’s brightest talents, Jadon Sancho’s demise is hard to fathom.
At only 26, his career is in limbo, having been released by Manchester United, the club he joined in 2021 for 73 million pounds ($97m) from Borussia Dortmund. The former Manchester City youth product made his name for dazzling skills and unstoppable dribbles, but he was sent out on loan to Aston Villa and Chelsea during his ill-fated spell at Old Trafford.
Clubs the world over will be interested in the winger, given his undoubted talent and tender age, but he will have to take a cut from the significant wages that he would have earned at United.
Another player that was once regarded as a rising star of English football, Raheem Sterling faces a make-or-break period in a career that has seen him rise to many a high.
From his beginnings at his local club – Queens Park Rangers in London – to England honours, the winger has courted the attention of Europe’s top clubs.
The 31-year-old’s first big break came at Liverpool, with spells at Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal following. His most recent spell was at Feyenoord, with the Dutch club releasing him only three months and eight appearances into his stint.
The rise of Riyad Mahrez was remarkable. A Premier League winner with Leicester City, who he previously helped to promotion from the second tier of the English game, the winger would claim five top-flight winners’ medals in total after a glittering career with Manchester City.
Now 35, Mahrez has been released by Saudi club Al Ahli, having only just appeared at FIFA World Cup 2026 for Algeria.
His 37 goals in 122 appearances in three years with Al Ahli is likely to mean the fleet-of-foot forward will not struggle to continue his career should he still have the desire.
At 34 years of age, Philippe Coutinho is young enough to still be able to pull the strings for any side in the centre of the park anywhere in the world.
A star name in his time with Liverpool, Coutinho was seen as a huge loss to the Anfield club when he joined Barcelona. The Brazilian left his boyhood club Vasco de Gama in February and has taken a break from the game. The MLS, however, has long been linked with the South American.
Few players become free agents from Real Madrid and struggle to find a suitor. At 34, Dani Carvajal is unlikely to go quietly into the night following a stellar career with Los Blancos, who he left in the summer following a 13-year stint with the record La Liga winners.
Fellow full-back, David Alaba, has also parted company with Real this summer and a move to Manchester United has been mooted.
Albeit at the back end of his career, at 34 years of age, Alaba could well be seen as cover on the left side of defence for United – a position they failed to reinforce in the transfer window.
