Transfer windows are one of the most exhilarating times in a football fan’s calendar and it certainly is a crazy and exciting period of time. The 2016 summer transfer window saw Paul Pogba’s £89m move from Juventus to Manchester United and a whopping £1.165 billion spent on transfers by the teams in the English top flight and thirteen of them broke their transfer records.
Without the shadow of a doubt, Pogba’s world record transfer fee will be eclipsed and the European clubs will spend millions of pounds on transfers time and time again.
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During a time when market value is one of the first things to mention about a player, what if there are players who clubs never had to pay a transfer fee for in their entire careers?
I guess it would be rather surprising, but there are a few players who hasn’t cost a single penny in terms of transfer fee throughout their careers apart from players like Steven Gerrard, Francesco Totti, Ryan Giggs etc who have played for only a single club. This piece mentions five of them.
#5 Jon Otsemobor
Otsembor was born in Liverpool and he started his career at his hometown club. The right-back made his Liverpool debut in 2002 against Southampton in a league cup game. He was loaned out to Hull city, Bolton Wanderers and Crewe Alexandra respectively in the next three years. In 2005, he left Liverpool and joined Rotherham United on a free transfer.
Six months later, he moved to Crewe Alexandra making 43 appearances for The Railwaymen in the course of 18 months. This was followed by a two and a half year-long spell with Norwich City and a six-month long spell at Southampton. The Englishman then moved to Sheffield Wednesday and spent two years of his career with The Owls.
In July 2012, he moved to MK Dons and had a brief loan spell at Tranmere rovers before retiring from professional football in 2014. Even though he played for 11 clubs during the course of his career, he never had a price tag.
#4 Richard Partridge
Patridge started off his career at Liverpool in 2001 and his time at the Merseyside club was hit by injuries. The following years, Liverpool loaned him out to Bristol Rovers and Coventry City for him to gain first-team experience. However, things didn’t work out well for him and he was released by the Reds at the end of the 2004-05 season.
The Irishman spent the next couple of years of his career at Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United respectively. Chester City secured his services for the next two seasons and he made 65 appearances for the club. His spell with The Seals was followed by a move to MK Dons and was loaned out to Kettering town and he then joined Stockport County.
In 2010, he moved to the Welsh Premier League side, The New Saints. A year later, he was forced to retire because of a knee injury. In 2012, he came back from retirement and played for Airbus UK Broughton for a season. Patridge represented Ireland at various youth levels and is the brother-in-law of former England striker Micheal Owen.
He played for 11 clubs, which includes three loan deals, during his 12-year long career without any transfer fee being paid for him. He is currently a part of the Liverpool U-21 staff as a Physiotherapist.
#3 Stuart Taylor
The Englishman began his senior career at Arsenal and many saw him as the player who would fill in the shoes of David Seaman but unfortunately for Taylor, that didn’t happen. He spent 8 years at Arsenal and making just 30 appearances in all competitions for them. Taylor was loaned out to Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace, Peterborough United and Leicester City in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004 respectively.
Aston Villa secured his services in 2005 and Taylor spent four years with the Villans. He spent the 2009 season on loan at Cardiff city. In 2009, he moved to Manchester City and was a part of the club squad till 2012.
The 2012 summer transfer window saw him move to Reading. Two years later, Leeds United signed him and in the recent summer transfer window, he moved to premier league side, Southampton which is his 12th club but he has never commanded a transfer fee.
#2 Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell, whom many Tottenham fans consider a traitor, made his debut for Spurs in a 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea in 1992. He made it to the club's senior squad after spending 3 years at the youth level. Campbell spent 9 years at Spurs, making over 250 appearances and he also won an English league cup title with the club.
He moved to Arsenal , Tottenham’s biggest rivals, on a free transfer in 2001 after he had refused a contract from Spurs that would make him the highest-paid player in the history of the club. Campbell spent five years at Arsenal winning two Premier League titles and 3 FA cups. Five years later, he moved to Portsmouth.
The summer transfer window of 2009 saw the defender move to Notts County, but his contract was terminated by mutual consent in September. He returned to Arsenal in the following transfer window and six months later, he moved to Newcastle United. Campbell retired from professional football in the year 2012. During the course of his 19-year-long career, Campbell never cost anything up front.
#1 Mathieu Flamini
Flamini was born in Marseille and began his career at the Ligue 1 outfit. He made his debut for the French club in 2003. In the following summer transfer window, Flamini moved to England joining the Gunners and spent four years at the London club.
In 2008, he moved to AC Milan and had a 5-year long spell with the Rossoneri winning a Serie A title. He had suffered a serious knee injury in 2011 which sidelined him for the entire 2011-12 season.
In the summer transfer window of 2013, the midfielder started training with Arsenal and then rejoined the Gunners on a three-year deal. He recently moved to Crystal palace on a free transfer, yet again.
The 32-year-old is the co-founder of the company GF Biochemicals which produces Levulinic acid, a chemical that might help in the planet’s battle against climate change. Flamini has made three appearances for the French national side.
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