From Gundogan to Aguero: Barcelona's insane list of recent free transfers

Suraj Radia

• Updated: 26 Jun 2023 11:44 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona have confirmed the arrival of Ilkay Gundogan after his contract at Manchester City, continuing their recent trend of signing players on free transfers.

The Catalan side have been forced to adapt their transfer policy in recent years due to their precarious financial situation, although they did spend more than €200 million on players last summer.

The arrival of Gundogan marks Barca’s TENTH free transfer in the past two years and Athletic Bilbao defender Inigo Martinez has reportedly agreed a deal to become the 11th when his contract expires at the end of the month.

DEAL DONE: Barcelona sign Ilkay Gundogan

Barca would have liked to add club legend Lionel Messi to the list but the complications surrounding the affordability of his wages and registering him with La Liga prompted the Argentine to join Inter Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Xavi’s side have still managed to bring in some impressive talent on free transfers and have even been able to sell some of the players on for profit as they look to raise funds and curb their spending.

The ten players that Barcelona have signed on a free transfer since 2021

Prior to 2021, Barcelona hadn’t made a signing on a free transfer since 2005 when they brought in Santiago Ezquerro and Dutch legend Mark van Bommel as their only arrivals that summer.

Since then, Barca preferred to splash the cash and flex their superiority as one of Europe’s elite clubs but their declining finances saw a pivot towards value in the market and they began the summer of 2021 off with three signings on a free – Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia from Man City as well as Memphis Depay from Lyon, before Dani Alves returned to the club in November.

Of those four players, only Garcia remains at the club two years later, with Aguero being forced into retirement just five games into his Barca career, while Depay made a €4m switch to Atletico in January 2023 and Alves left at the end of the season.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also arrived on a free in January 2022 after his release by Arsenal and scored 11 goals in the final 17 league games of the season, prompting Chelsea to sign him just six months later and giving Barca a quick €12m profit on the forward.

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The success of Aubameyang prompted more free signings in the summer of 2022, with Franck Kessie coming in from Milan along with Chelsea duo Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso as well as Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin.

Kessie endured a difficult first season in Barca while Bellerin was sold to Sporting Lisbon a few months later for €1m, however Christensen and Alonso played vital minutes as Xavi’s men lifted the La Liga title last season.

With Barca’s financial issues still ongoing, the club have again focused on free signings with the arrival of Gundogan on an initial two-year deal and Martinez could follow in the coming weeks to further boost the depth in the side.