6 world-class footballers who denied their club a transfer fee: Mbappe, Pogba…
Former Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United stars are among the players who ran down their contracts before leaving and denied their club a transfer fee.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the latest to have denied his maiden club a transfer fee, having decided to join Real Madrid when his Liverpool contract expires in the summer of 2025.
With the Alexander-Arnold news sinking in for Reds fans, we’ve trawled through the archives and picked out six other players who have left in similar circumstances.
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe’s protracted transfer from PSG to Real Madrid sapped the will to live of all those involved and probably shaved a few years of the planet’s lifespan through wasted energy consumption.
The France international almost moved to Madrid in 2022, before being enticed to stay in Paris through an obscene contract and a say in how the club itself was run.
Two years on and nothing would stop Mbappe from leaving, with the forward reportedly taking a wage cut to move to the Bernabeu.
Thirty-nine goals in his debut season in Spain is certainly impressive, but Mbappe looks destined to end the campaign trophyless.
While, in his absence, PSG have finally looked like a modern and coherent team, reaching the Champions League final and achieving the impossible by making neutrals positively disposed towards them.
Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski’s Bosman move from Borussia Dortmund to bitter rivals Bayern Munich was common knowledge for much of the 2013-14 season.
The Poland striker, who scored 66 Bundesliga goals in his final three years with Dortmund, went on to a different stratosphere at Bayern and is only second to Gerd Muller in the club’s all-time top scorers list.
Meanwhile, Dortmund fans have regularly booed their former player and gave Lewandowski a hostile reception when he returned with Barcelona for a Champions League quarter-final in 2025.
“I understand the fans, but the fans should understand me too,” the 36-year-old said afterwards.
“I’ve shown many times how much I respect Borussia. I only have positive memories of my time there, and they will stay with me forever.”
Paul Pogba
Pogba was widely regarded as Manchester United’s Next Big Thing back in 2012, being drafted into the first-team squad by Sir Alex Ferguson and making seven appearances before his 19th birthday.
But the Frenchman threw a spanner in the works by declining United’s contract extension offer and joining Juventus instead.
Ferguson was openly critical of Pogba’s behaviour around the move, claiming he had disrespected the club.
On the other hand, Pogba suggested that Ferguson’s lack of faith in his ability was a key factor behind the departure, pointing to his lack of game time during a midfield injury crisis.
Pogba would deliver on that early promise in four successful seasons at Juve, before returning to United in 2016 for a £90million fee.
He would leave six years later, for nothing once more, after an inconsistent second spell at Old Trafford.
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Michael Ballack
Chelsea beat the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United to Ballack’s signature when he left Bayern Munich in 2006.
The midfielder was the star of both Bayern and Germany’s midfield at the time, but was regularly accused of choking in big Champions League matches.
Franz Beckenbauer went as far as to accuse Ballack of ‘saving his strength’ for prospective employers after Ballack turned in an average performance in the 2006 German Cup final.
But, in his four years at Stamford Bridge, Ballack was a key figure and won three FA Cups, a Premier League title and a League Cup.
He was also a Champions League runner-up in the 2007-08 season, in which he scored nine goals in 29 appearances from midfield.
Sol Campbell
By the end of the 2000-01 season, it was clear Campbell had outgrown Tottenham – he was one of Europe’s best centre-backs while Spurs were floundering in mid-table.
His contract had expired and it was expected that Campbell would join an elite Champions League club abroad.
Around the same time, Arsenal announced a press conference to unveil the signing of goalkeeper Richard Wright. The scenes when Campbell walked out instead were unprecedented.
In an interview with Spurs Monthly magazine, the England defender said that he would never play for Arsenal and the reaction from Tottenham fans was apoplectic.
Campbell himself has said: “[Arsenal vice-chairman] David Dein made me feel protected. He was going to help and promised to be there for me. Come to us, he said, and you will be part of our family. We will protect you.”
‘Judas’ ended up winning two league titles and three FA Cups at Highbury, while Spurs fans have never forgiven him.
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Steve McManaman
At an individual level, McManaman never quite hit the same heights after leaving Liverpool, but he still enjoyed plenty of success.
During his four-year stint at Real Madrid, whom he joined in 1999 after running down his Liverpool contract, he managed to win six trophies, including two Champions League medals.
At an individual level, McManaman never quite hit the same heights after leaving Liverpool, but he still enjoyed plenty of success.
During his four-year stint at Real Madrid, he managed to win six trophies, including two Champions League medals.