The List Of Out Of Contract Players In 2018 Is Ridiculous

The summer transfer window may have only closed a week ago but the January window is only three and a half months away from opening and could see some substantial business conducted, perhaps more than any other winter window in history.

The reason for this is because the turn of the year allows any players that are out of contract to begin negotiations with any potential suitors and, this January, some of the biggest names in world football could be up for grabs.

While some of the players on the list will undoubtedly sign new deals in the coming weeks and months as their respective clubs go to great lengths to ensure they don't lose their prized assets for absolutely nothing, others won't be so lucky, with Arsenal a prime example of this, as the Gunners expect both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, a pair that cost a combined £74 million, expected to leave the Emirates Stadium next summer.

In other cases, Barcelona will probably give Lionel Messi the freedom of Catalonia, a solid gold house and his own fucking unicorn before they allow him to leave for free, while OGC Nice will likely throw whatever money they can to keep a revitalised Mario Balotelli in the south of France.

Messi, Sanchez and Chiellini - Your's for absolutely nothing, potentially, next summer. Images: PA

Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho will be keen to ensure Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini don't get any ideas about leaving Old Trafford, although less is known about whether the Manchester United boss will feel the same way about Daley Blind while Juventus will likely want to tie Giorgio Chiellini down to at least another year in Turin.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have a fight on their hands to retain Emre Can, with the German midfielder being coveted by Juve, who have made a habit in recent years of bagging themselves some of the world's finest midfielders free of charge, as Andrea Pirlo and Sami Khedira can attest. And while Can isn't the same calibre of player as Khedira or Pirlo, Jurgen Klopp would still be mortified to lose the former Bayer Leverkusen youngster.

Not a bad list of players who could be available for sod all, is it? Just maybe the astronomical wages and signing on fees that would be involved in signing all 11 of them would be a bit of a sticking point for a few potential buyers.