10 top players without a club

Liam Hanna 8 years ago 11.7k
Michael Essien, Ronaldinho and Raul Meireles remain without a club. BeSoccer

There are many players that remained without a club in the summer, or were not able to find a new team, and these 10 players stand out more than most. Here are 10 players who have not yet hung up their boots and are seeking a new opportunity.

Miroslav Klose

His contract ended at Lazio last season and he remains without a team. Being closer to 40 to 30, Klose has not confirmed whether this career halt will become a permanent one.

Ronaldinho Gaucho

The Brazilian footballing legend of the noughties seems to be on a permanent holiday. He has been linked with a number of teams, many exotic and strange. He appears to be satisfied with his meditative lifestyle, playing the odd charity match here and there.

Sulley Muntari

The Ghanaian left Milan in the summer of 2015 after his contract expired. He then went to play for Saudi side Al-Ittihad but became a free agent in the summer. He is yet to announce his retirement, but no potential suitors are known.

Dimitar Berbatov

The former Manchester United star played for PAOK in Greece after a year-and-a-half at Monaco. At 35, he is yet to retire and continues to look for a new side that will allow him to extend his career.

Raul Meireles

After spending four years at Fenerbahce, where he joined from Chelsea, the Portuguese midfielder remains without a club. He's relatively young (33 years old), but for some reason he has failed to find a team.

Ciprian Marica

He is Romania's third all-time top goalscorer and fifth in all-time appearances and despite being 'just' 30 years old, Marica is without a team. He already suffered a turbulent capaign last year, joining Steaua having already gone three months without a team because his contract was terminated at Konyaspor. His contract then ended at Steaua and he became a free agent. A long-term injury is probably what has stopped teams becoming interested in him this summer.

Martin Caceres

He's only 29, but the Uruguayan defender has not managed to find a club after leaving Juventus. Like Marica, injury problems have prevented clubs from making a move. He is supposed to be fully fit within a question of weeks, meaning this list will prbably have to be updated this month.

Emmanuel Adebayor

He was rumoured to be close to a move to Lyon this summer and the deal was thought to be done. His contract at Crystal Palace ended in the summer after joining in January, but a deal to join Lyon fell through due to attitude issues in front of the club president.

Michael Essien

Last season he played for Panathinaikos but did not have his deal renewed. The ex-Chelsea, Real Madrid and Milan midfielder continues to look for a team. It is unlikely that we will see Essien moving to a top league in January.

Antonio Di Natale

His romance with Udinese finished at the end of last season. The Italian club decided not to renew his contract, but at 38, Di Natale still hopes to continue his career. He made it clear that his goodbye to Udinese was not a retirement and he is being linked with Serie B side SPAL. It seems that Di Natale has more lives than a cat.

Mentioned in the news story

A. Di Natale
E. Adebayor
C. Marica
D. Berbatov
Ronaldinho
M. Essien
Martín Cáceres
Raúl Meireles
S. Muntari
M. Klose