Football Manager 2022: Best free players (out of contract)

Football Manager 2022 is currently in beta and anyone who has digitally pre-ordered the game can jump on in with the game's full release set for 5th November.

There are few better feelings than starting a new save on a new edition of the game, of course, there are the new features to play with but really when it comes to a game like this, it's really all about building that new team; the buying, the selling, or as Harry Redknapp would definitely not say the "wheeling and dealing".

And there is a lot of changes on that front in Football Manager 2022, with Newcastle now the spendiest club in the world after their takeover by Saudi's Public Investment Fund and even more ways to break down transfer and loan dealings than ever before.

• Read more: Newcastle get £200 MILLION transfer budget in FM 22 after Saudi takeover

But the best deals are those that you manage to secure with little to no investment. Call them what you like; free transfers, Bosman signings or pre-contracts, it all means the same thing, getting a player with no transfer fee, the only outlay potentially being his salary, signing on fee and any fees requested by the agent.

And in FM 22, like in the real world, players running down their contracts and being available on "a free" isn't consigned to just the older generation with many players sensing the opportunity to get an even bigger payday.

So if you want help finding some of the best free transfers in FM 22, then you have come to the right place as we break down who is available for each of the first three seasons.

Note: Players can -- and will -- sign contracts so some of these names may not match up with what you see in your own game.

Best out of contract players in Football Manager 2022

We have broken down the out of contract players by position, so theoretically you can make a complete starting 11 from this.

Goalkeeper

• Willy Caballero - 39 - Argentina
• Carlos Abad - 26 - Spain
• Ander Bardaji - 26 - Spain
• Matias Pesallaccia - 24 - Argentina
• Ataberk Dadakdeniz - 21 - Turkey

Centre-back

• Sídnei - 31 - Brazil
• Mateo Musacchio - 30 - Argentina
• Joris Gnangnon - 24 - France
• Jozo Simunovic - 27 - Bosnia
• Eliaquim Mangala - 30 - France

Left-back

• Kwadwo Asamoah - 32 - Ghana
• Luca Germoni - 23 - Italy
• Kevin Gutiérrez - 26 - Mexico
• Loris Benito - 29 - Switzerland
• Carles Planas - 30 - Spain

Right-back

• Daniel Alves - 38 - Brazil
• Francis - 25 - Spain
• Iván - 27 - Spain
• Marc Navarro - 26 - Spain
• Gaetano Berardi - 32 - Switzerland

Defensive midfielder

• Jack Wilshere - 29 - England
• Ljubomir Fejsa - 32 - Serbia
• Idriz Voca - 24 - Kosovo
• Nigel de Jong - 36 - Netherlands
• Ezequiel Cirigliano - 29 - Argentina

Central midfielder

• Nicolas Viola - 31 - Italy
• Mattheus Oliveira - 27 - Brazil
• Paulinho - 33 - Brazil
• Nabil Bentaleb - 26 - Algeria
• Maicon - 35 - Brazil

Left-winger

• Diego Perotti - 33 - Argentina
• Mohammed Bahlouli - 21 - France
• Adnane Tighadouini - 28 - Morocco
• Alexander Lecaros - 21 - Peru
• Christian Theocharous - 21 - Australia

Right-winger

• Federico Cartabia - 28 - Argentina
• Jordan Ibe - 25 - England
• Jota - 30 - Spain
• Ángel Romero - 29 - Paraguay
• Leonardo - 34 - Brazil

Attacking midfielder

• Callum Gribbin - 22 - England
• Iago Falqué - 31 - Spain
• Jorge Valdivia - 37 - Chile
• Carlos Tevez - 37 - Argentina
• Óscar Romero - 29 - Paraguay

Striker

• Fernando Llorente - 36 - Spain
• Sergio Diaz - 23 - Paraguay
• Han Kwang-song - 22 - North Korea
• Jerome Sinclair - 24 - England
• Andy Carroll - 32 - England

Second to getting a player on a free is picking up the next big superstar, so why not check out Football Manager 2022's best wonderkids to get your academy and first-team purring.