Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
European football is on the brink of significant roster overhauls as top clubs face the need to trim their squads and rethink their wage structures. Many high-profile players, who once seemed indispensable, are now underperforming, struggling with injuries, or simply no longer fitting their teams' strategies.
Much like the strategic planning in football, you can elevate your leisure time by exploring platforms like Slotozen Casino login. This online casino offers an incredible variety of slots to suit every preference, from classic games to modern video slots with immersive themes. Additionally, players can enjoy generous bonuses, including welcome offers and seasonal promotions, making every spin even more exciting.
This article explores the players some of Europe's biggest clubs may need to let go in 2025 to pave the way for fresh talent and financial optimization.
Chelsea could do with a proper clean-up of the squad and relieve not only the wage bill but also the overcrowded changing room. However, there are three players whose sale in 2025 should be prioritised.
Chilwell, according to Maresca, ploughs through workouts but doesn't fit into his concept of the game. Ben has lost competition to Cucurella and Veiga and played just half a game in the League Cup, while being the second highest paid player in the squad. 6.8 million euros (here and hereafter according to Capology) is clearly too much. So a parting of ways is inevitable, unless the head coach leaves the club soon (which is highly unlikely).
Sterling has been loaned out for now, but he's not sparkling at Arsenal, to put it mildly. It is unlikely that 30-year-old Raheem will still be useful to the Blues, his purchase from Man City was a mistake. There is no way to recoup the money spent, so Chelsea will have to work hard in the summer to get rid of an unnecessary player with a huge salary. Although it's worth seeing how the doping scandal with his rival Michael Mudryk ends.
Nkunku is also from the series of failed transfers. With the form of Cole Palmer and the progress of Nicholas Jackson, there is no place for the Frenchman in the centre. And to keep him in another status with the fourth salary at the club is a decision as impractical as possible. It's not for nothing that it's being written that Chris could be included in the transfer deal for Bayern Munich's Mathis Thel.
After the transfer of Riccardo Calafiori and the progress of 18-year-old Miles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal have a clear overload on the left-back position. And then there is Takehiro Tomiyasu, who can play on both flanks of the defence. Against such a background, it becomes inexpedient to keep two experienced and highly paid LBs in the team.
Zinchenko was one of the leaders at first after coming from Man City, but this season he finally lost the competition - he has just over 330 minutes played. At the same time, the Ukrainian is among the top 10 highest paid players in the team, receiving 5 million euros net annually. So it is likely that Oleksandr will leave London this winter, especially if he has an option with Borussia Dortmund.
Tierney's situation is even sadder - he doesn't play at all under Arteta. Last season he went on loan to Real Sociedad, and now, apparently, he will go to Celtic.
A rebuild is looming at City, so a lot of veterans could be leaving soon. De Bruyne is an icon of the club and arguably the best player in the club's history. But it seems the Belgian's time at the Etihad is coming to an end. He is still ready to decide the outcome of matches at the expense of his brilliance, but Kevin will be 34 in the summer, and injuries have prevented him from appearing on the pitch as consistently as before. KDB may still be of use to Guardiola, but the question is whether the management will appreciate his potential contribution to the record wages in the APL - 13.5 million euros.
The prospects of Jack Grealish, who has not scored once in 2024, are also in question. Jack is clearly not living up to expectations - he is not productive, receives more than 10 million euros a year and will soon celebrate his 30th birthday. It is unlikely to sell the winger for adequate money, but renting him is possible. The question is the same as with De Bruyne: whether the club is ready to accept the discrepancy between his salary and his contribution to the team's results.
As for Walker, it appears that his contract will soon be terminated early. Kyle has drastically decreased in speed and is not keeping up with the episodes. Dashing and stamina have been his trump cards throughout his career, but nobody lasts forever and it looks like the Englishman will be heading to Italy soon.
Ruben Amorim still has a long way to go to sort out the chaos at MU - and who has had an easy transition to a new formation after a different head coach mid-season? The Portuguese is trying to assemble his version of United, but there are definitely a number of redundancies in the process.
Casemiro dropped off dramatically as last season progressed and is likely to head to Saudi Arabia soon. It's the same story with Anthony, only he still has a chance to latch onto an option in Europe and is more likely to be a rental.
Eriksen and Lindelof are veteran reserves who get paid huge sums of money. It is clear that if all these players leave, they will have to find replacements for the rotation, but it is thought that Manchester City will be able to find options for the €50 million wage bill, which is how much is spent per year on the above four players including taxes.
Yes, we have two defenders on our list at once, despite Real Madrid's terrible understaffing in defence. David Alaba has recovered from his injury to Cross, but the question is whether he can return to his previous level. The Austrian will be 33 in the summer, he has the second salary after Mbappe (10.8 million euros), and for this money you can find a younger and more reliable option. Vallejo, on the other hand, is not even a reserve player, so he will probably leave in the summer when his contract expires.
Seballos, taking into account the transfer of Tshuameni to the centre of defence, plays a little more often, but is not suitable for serious tasks. Real Madrid have long been rumoured to be looking for a new club for him. The obstacle is a salary of 5 million euros, which someone else is unlikely to repeat. And Dani himself, apparently, is happy with the current situation.
The Catalans have recently reverted to the 1:1 rule (now entitled to spend as much as they earn), but that doesn't mean you can ignore the optimisation of the wage bill. There are a number of highly paid players in the squad who no longer qualify for that kind of money.
The most obvious example is Ansu Fati. The youngster broke into adult football early on, but broke down after a series of injuries and seems to have completely frustrated Hansi Flick, who has stopped including him even in matchday squads. The problem is that Fati is paid €6.7 million a year (the third highest salary in the team) and is in no hurry to leave such a cosy trough. A success would be at least renting him out on loan with part of his salary covered.
De Jong is fighting for a place in the starting line-up after injury, but with Mark Casado progressing and Gavi returning, his presence in the changing room is not so necessary. In addition, young talent Marc Bernal will be available next season, so Frenkie will be more of a liability for the club at a huge €9.1 million.
Langlais has been wanted for a year now, but so far they have only managed to sign him on loan. It is likely that in the summer they will be able to negotiate a sale to Atletico, whose colours the French defender is currently defending.
With Lewandowski the situation is the most controversial. On the one hand, he is one of the best scorers in Europe 2024, the main centre-forward of the team. On the other hand - Robert is already 36, he receives a cosmic 16 million euros a year, besides, he performs unstably. Perhaps Barça will decide to transfer a younger striker in the summer, and then it will be pointless to keep such an expensive asset on the bench.
In general, Bayern are in for an interesting year. The contracts of Neuer, Muller, Kimmich, Sane, Dyer and Davies expire in the summer, and there is no definite information on any of them yet. At the same time, Vincent Kompany is hardly happy with the form of Koeman and Gnabry, two wingers who are in the top 5 in terms of wages but have only 7+6 for the two of them this season.
Munich are unlikely to let both go at once (especially if Sane leaves), but it looks like a big rebuild is in store for the team. Either way, for now Kingsley and Serge are not justifying the money they are getting and are on a clear slump. Although both still have a chance to prove their worth at the top level.
An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances
My daughter's first ever football match - Orlando City v Atlanta United, August 2019. Written for Izzy to read when she gets old enough. Vamos Orlando
Tony Incenzo has been to over 2,000 football grounds - is he the world's barmiest football fan? Read about his love for Non-League football and groundhopping obsession, including watching a match in prison!
All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
