5 biggest stars who will officially be free agents at the end of this season (2021-22)

#3 Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)

CA Osasuna v FC Barcelona - La Liga Santander

Ousmane Dembele's contract standoff is arguably the ugliest of the lot. The Frenchman was signed in 2017 for a whopping €140 million from Borussia Dortmund. He was seen as a like-for-like replacement for the departing Neymar Jr.

Although Dembele has shown flashes of his genius, he has been inconsistent throughout. Niggling injury issues and disciplinary problems have not helped his case either. In four and a half seasons at the club, he has made just 129 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 31 goals and providing 23 assists.

Those are not the returns the Catalans expected from Dembele when they signed him. Yet they were willing to offer him a new deal. But Barcelona were put off by Dembele's dastardly wage demands and asked him to find a new club in January.

The Frenchman has failed to do so and is likely to spend the rest of the 2021-22 season on the sidelines. Even if he does feature for Barcelona before the end of the season, there is no way he will be there beyond this summer.

#2 Paul Pogba (Manchester United)

Manchester United v Liverpool - Premier League

Inconsistency has been a major theme in Paul Pogba's second stint at Manchester United. The Frenchman is unstoppable when he is on song but he has not been able to sustain those levels for an extended period of time.

It's fair to say that a large section of the Manchester United fanbase is now resigned to losing him. Contempt for his agent Mino Raiola, who has undermined Manchester United and their managers on multiple occasions, is growing.

However, La Pioche is one of the finest passers in the world and Manchester United could definitely use him if he decides to commit his future to the club. For now, it looks like Pogba will make up his mind based on who the next manager of the club will be.

His current contract expires in the summer and if he doesn't like what he sees, he is off. But it will be interesting to see which European giants will be willing to take him given his inconsistency and lack of discipline as a central midfielder.

#1 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Manchester City v Paris Saint-Germain: Group A - UEFA Champions League

Kylian Mbappe wanted to leave PSG last summer when they could still cash in on him. The 23 year old's mind was clearly set on moving to Real Madrid but Paris Saint-Germain refused to let him leave. The Frenchman has since publicly discussed his disappointment at having his dream move blocked.

Things look rather grim for PSG from a financial standpoint right now. They signed Mbappe permanently in 2018 for €145 million and are now set to lose him for free as his current contract expires in the summer.

Mbappe has also been PSG's best player this season, scoring 19 goals and providing 16 assists in just 29 appearances across all competitions. PSG will clearly miss him on the pitch as well.

Mbappe is already being rumored to have agreed to join Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer.