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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Transfers & Contracts

Free agent

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/ˌfriː ˈeɪdʒənt/nounCommon term

In football (soccer), free agent means: A player whose contract has ended or been cancelled, so they can join any club without a transfer fee.

In Turkish: serbest oyuncu, bonservisi elinde oyuncu

How it is used

A player becomes a free agent when his contract runs out and joins a new club on a free transfer; clubs say they signed him "on a free". Depending on the rules, a player in the last six months of a contract can agree a pre-contract with a new club.

Example sentences

  1. He's been a free agent since leaving Harbour Athletic in June.

  2. Free agents can sometimes be signed after the transfer window has closed.

Common collocations

  • become a free agent
  • sign a free agent
  • free transfer
  • on a free
  • transfer windowOne of the fixed periods in the year when clubs are allowed to register new players, usually a long one in summer and a shorter one in winter.
  • transfer feeThe amount of money a buying club pays a selling club to take a player who is still under contract there.
  • signFor a club, to bring a player in on a contract; for a player, to agree a contract and join a club.
  • agentA licensed person who represents a player or coach in contract and transfer talks and earns a fee or commission from the deal.

More terms: Transfers & Contracts

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