A look at some of big names potentially available on free transfers this summer

Cristiano Ronaldo's recent cryptic social media post has left everyone wondering whether his time at Al Nassr has come to an end.

The Portuguese is one of many players whose contracts with their current clubs will finish this summer.

Given the immense cost of employing one of the best to ever play the game, one could assume that there are only a few clubs worldwide that could afford him - and actually want him - given his advancing years.

Notwithstanding his incredible standard of fitness, there are a number of other free transfers available this summer that potential buying clubs could find a far more attractive possibility.

Napoli could've hit the jackpot

Lille's Jonathan David reportedly has a verbal agreement with Napoli to sign for the Partnopei along with Kevin De Bruyne once his contract with the Ligue 1 club runs out on June 30th.

However, until the ink is dry on any contract, anything can (and often does) happen.

With 23 goals and seven assists in 42 games in all competitions in 2024/25, it's perfectly understandable why clubs would be interested in the striker's services.

How a team such as Arsenal could do with such striking prowess in their squad, for example.

Staying with the Gunners, Jorginho has already released a post on social media confirming his departure, and fellow midfielder, Thomas Partey could soon be following him out of the Emirates Stadium exit door.

It's believed that Mikel Arteta might be willing to offer the Ghanaian a new deal, but as with Jonathan David, it's the player that holds all the aces in this situation.

Changes afoot on both sides of north London

Should any discussions drag on too long Arsenal might well go looking elsewhere, and Abdoulaye Doucoure is another Premier League ace coming to the end of his deal, this time with Everton.

At 32 years of age he doesn't necessarily fit Arteta's profile, however, as an interim solution if required, the Spaniard could do a lot worse.

Across north London, Tottenham's incredibly poor 24/25 - notwithstanding their Europa League triumph - was always going to see changes, and one might even come in the dugout.

Regardless of whether Ange Postecoglou retains his status as first-team head coach or not, Ben Davies and Sergio Reguilon's contracts are at an end in June, so at the very least Spurs will need two new defenders.

Jonathan Tah could've been one of them but the former Bayer Leverkusen ace has already been unveiled by Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich.

Could Man United go back in for De Gea?

Manchester United have, apparently, put their entire squad up for sale so they'll be looking for some freebies and bargains no doubt.

With their goalkeeping situation still not solved, it's worth keeping an eye on David de Gea's situation, as he will be out of contract shortly. Assuming neither club nor player wants a reunion, Barcelona's Wojciech Szczesny wouldn't be the worst free transfer in the world on a 12-month deal.

David de Gea in action for FiorentinaČTK / imago sportfotodienst / www.imagephotoagency.it

It's not only De Bruyne that is likely to be leaving United's biggest rivals this summer either. Midfield partner, Ilkay Gundogan's time is also up and it's arguably the right time for Pep Guardiola to oversee a changing of the guard.

One of Guardiola's former clubs, Barcelona, seem to have escaped relatively unscathed as only Szczesny is out of contract, but the same can't be said for LaLiga rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

All change at Real Madrid

Los Blancos stalwarts, Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez will both be moving to pastures new, though whether that's into the boardroom at Real or on the pitch for another club isn't clear at this point. 

Atleti haven't renewed Axel Witsel's deal and Crystal Palace are already rumoured to be in talks with their free-agent left-back, Reinildo Mandava. 

Celta's Marcos Alonso is another left-back who has come to the end of the road at Balaidos, and given his previous Premier League experience he is another player that could almost certainly provide a temporary solution to clubs in England or elsewhere.

Big names on the move in Italy

Inter will have a slightly different look about them next season as they look to wrest the Scudetto back from Napoli, and that's because all of Marko Arnautovic, Joaquin Correa and Stefan de Vrij will be let go.

The cull at Atlanta will top even the Nerazzurri exodus as four player contracts are set to expire; Mario Pasalic, Davide Zappacosta, Juan Cuadrado and Rafael Toloi.

Milan's poor season ended with no qualification for Europe in 2024/25 and, as such, they could find it difficult to persuade players to move to San Siro. On the way out are Luka Jovic and Alessandro Florenzi, and given how the past campaign panned out they might not consider that to be a bad thing.

Fantastic talent available this summer

When all is said and done, there is some fantastic talent available for free right across Europe.

In some cases, the board of clubs will need to back the judgment of their manager, because logically buying a 30+ player that hasn't played an awful lot of late could prove to be a disaster.

Equally, if you don't buy a ticket you can't win the raffle, so let's wait and see where some of those names end up in 2025/26.

Jason PettigroveFlashscore