Even though EA has made the transfer of free agents difficult in FIFA 21 as compared to the older versions of Career mode in FIFA, it still remains a crucial part of the game as we will explain in this FIFA 21 Best Free Agents guide.
A free agent is basically a player whose contract is either about to expire or has expired and is now available to be picked up.
Reasons for picking up a free agent could be the matter of fact that many teams that are not that massive when it comes to finances.
To compete with big clubs, they have to find different ways to make their way in the transfer markets.
Another possible reason could be that you are up for a challenge and want to put yourself through some sort of pressure and therefore look for a lower-league side for some serious troubles and challenging career.
You also have a choice of free transfers but remember that they are free for a reason, and it’s not a nicer one hence you should avoid wasting your time on them.
However, if you turn your focus onto the free agents, you can really end up finding an impeccable set of players ready to play for you.
Here are a few acronyms that you need to know about:
Position (PO): Position is the spot on the field where the players hold their expertise at, and therefore, they’re placed there as well.
Overall Rating (OVR): Each player has many stats and attributes, OVR is basically the combination of all of them. Through this, the players’ performance can be judged.
Potential (POT): This shows what is the maximum OVR that you can get with a player.
Market Value (VA): This is the estimated amount at which a team can sell the player’s contract to another team.
FIFA 21 Best Free Agents
| Name | Age | Club | PO | OVR | POT | VA |
| Lionel Messi | 33 | FC Barcelona | RW, ST, CF | 93 | 93 | £60.8m |
| Sergio Ramos | 34 | Real Madrid | CB | 89 | 89 | £22.1m |
| Sergio Agüero | 32 | Manchester City | ST | 89 | 89 | £47.7m |
| Samir Handanovič | 35 | Inter | GK | 88 | 88 | £14.4m |
| Ángel Di María | 32 | Paris Saint-Germain | RW, LW | 87 | 87 | £35.1m |
| Luka Modrić | 34 | Real Madrid | CM | 87 | 87 | £22.1m |
| Giorgio Chiellini | 35 | Juventus | CB | 87 | 87 | £14m |
| Paul Pogba | 27 | Manchester United | CM, CDM | 86 | 87 | £45m |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | 21 | Milan | GK | 85 | 92 | £37.4m |
| Memphis Depay | 26 | Olympique Lyonnais | CF, LW, CAM | 85 | 88 | £43.7m |
| Georginio Wijnaldum | 29 | Liverpool | CM | 85 | 85 | £33.3m |
| Thiago Silva | 35 | Chelsea | CB | 85 | 85 | £10.4m |
| Alex Telles | 27 | FC Porto | LB | 84 | 85 | £27.9m |
| David Alaba | 28 | FC Bayern München | CB, LB | 84 | 84 | £24.8m |
| Jesús Navas | 34 | Sevilla FC | RB, RM | 84 | 84 | £9.9m |
| Fernandinho | 35 | Manchester City | CB, CDM | 84 | 84 | £8.6m |
| Edin Višća | 30 | Medipol Başakşehir FK | RM | 83 | 83 | £22.1m |
| Juan Bernat | 27 | Paris Saint-Germain | LB, LM | 83 | 84 | £23m |
| Blaise Matuidi | 33 | Inter Miami | CDM, CM | 83 | 83 | £11.3m |
| Renato Augusto | 32 | Beijing Sinobo Guoan FC | CM, CAM, LM | 83 | 83 | £17.6m |
| Gonzalo Higuaín | 32 | Inter Miami | ST | 83 | 83 | £18.5m |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | 38 | Milan | ST | 83 | 83 | £8.6m |
| Florian Thauvin | 27 | Olympique de Marseille | RW, RM | 82 | 82 | £20.7m |
| Tomáš Vaclík | 31 | Sevilla FC | GK | 82 | 82 | £12.6m |
| Aleksandar Kolarov | 34 | Inter | LB | 82 | 82 | £7.2m |
| Jérôme Boateng | 31 | FC Bayern München | CB | 82 | 82 | £14.9m |
| Fernando Muslera | 34 | Galatasaray SK | GK | 82 | 82 | £8.6m |
| Lars Bender | 31 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | RB, CDM, CM | 82 | 82 | £14.4m |
| Mesut Özil | 31 | Arsenal | CAM, RW | 82 | 82 | £17.6m |
| Gianluigi Buffon | 42 | Juventus | GK | 82 | 82 | £2m |
| Marko Dmitrović | 28 | SD Eibar | GK | 81 | 82 | £13.5m |
| Marten de Roon | 29 | Atalanta | CDM, CM | 81 | 81 | £13.5m |
| Arkadiusz Milik | 26 | Napoli | ST | 81 | 84 | £20.3m |
| Jonathan Viera | 30 | Beijing Sinobo Guoan FC | CAM | 81 | 81 | £15.3m |
| Taison | 32 | Shakhtar Donetsk | LM, CAM | 81 | 81 | £12.6m |
| Marlos | 32 | Shakhtar Donetsk | RM, CAM | 81 | 81 | £12.6m |
| Sami Khedira | 33 | Juventus | CM, CDM | 81 | 81 | £9.5m |
| Javi Martínez | 31 | FC Bayern München | CDM, CB | 81 | 81 | £12.2m |
| Sven Bender | 31 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | CB, CDM | 81 | 81 | £11.7m |
| Marek Hamšík | 32 | Dalian YiFang FC | CM, CDM, CAM | 81 | 81 | £12.2m |
| Stéphane Ruffier | 33 | AS Saint-Étienne | GK | 81 | 81 | £8.6m |
| Łukasz Fabiański | 35 | West Ham United | GK | 81 | 81 | £4.3m |
| Franck Ribéry | 37 | Fiorentina | CF, LM, LW | 81 | 81 | £5.9m |
| André-Pierre Gignac | 34 | Tigres U.A.N.L. | ST, CF | 81 | 81 | £8.6m |
| Pepe | 37 | FC Porto | CB | 81 | 81 | £3.2m |
| Iniesta | 36 | Vissel Kobe | CM, CAM | 81 | 81 | £5m |
| Otávio | 25 | FC Porto | RM, CAM, CM | 80 | 83 | £16.7m |
| Lucas Vázquez | 29 | Real Madrid | RW | 80 | 80 | £13.1m |
| Julian Draxler | 26 | Paris Saint-Germain | CAM, CM, LW | 80 | 81 | £15.8m |
| Nacho Fernández | 30 | Real Madrid | CB, LB, RB | 80 | 80 | £10.8m |
| Cédric Bakambu | 29 | Beijing Sinobo Guoan FC | ST | 80 | 80 | £13.5m |
| Escudero | 30 | Sevilla FC | LB, LM | 80 | 80 | £10.4m |
| Guaita | 33 | Crystal Palace | GK | 80 | 80 | £7.2m |
| Hulk | 33 | Shanghai SIPG FC | RW, ST | 80 | 80 | £8.1m |
| Nicolas Nkoulou | 30 | Torino | CB | 80 | 80 | £10.8m |
| Lars Stindl | 31 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | CAM, ST | 80 | 80 | £11.7m |
| Giuliano | 30 | Al Nassr | CAM | 80 | 80 | £12.6m |
| David Luiz | 33 | Arsenal | CB | 80 | 80 | £6.3m |
| Diego Costa | 31 | Atlético Madrid | ST | 80 | 80 | £12.2m |
| Branislav Ivanović | 36 | West Bromwich Albion | CB, RB | 80 | 80 | £2.7m |
As talked earlier that in FIFA 21, the chances of you scoring the very best free agents are not likely however, we’ve gathered a few players from the list who deserve your consideration.
Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona (RW, CF, ST)
Lionel Messi, easily one of the greatest players in the world, had a huge overall ranking of 94 in FIFA 20 and can turn just about any club into a trophy winner by himself.
This season, before re-starting the UEFA Champions League, the 33-year-old scored 30 goals and 26 assists in all competitions.
If Messi manages to hang on to a new deal with Barcelona, FIFA 21 will remain a future expiry of the term.
Sergio Agüero, Manchester City (ST)
Since joining Atlético Madrid in 2011, Sergio Agüero has become Manchester City’s main striker.
Now 32 years old, but with a FIFA 20 ranking of 90 OVR, he may be one of the best FIFA 21 contract expiry signings.
Strictly a striker, in vital qualities such as finishing, positioning, composure, reactions, and balance, Agüero has long boasted scores of 90 or above.
Even if, notwithstanding his recurrent injuries, age, he scored 23 goals, which make him a very good candidate.
David Alaba, Bayern Munich, (CB, LB)
Alaba is now one of the world’s highest-rated left-backs and has the rare potential to play at center-back as well.
Alaba played 38 games mainly from the center-back position this season and scored twice last season for Bayern.
In FIFA 21, on a salary of £ 93,000 per week, the 84 OVR defender has a worth of £32.5 million.
Alaba has a sound collection of ratings if he does not sign a new contract and is a suitable age to be a mainstay of the squad for the next few seasons.
Memphis Depay, Olympique Lyonnais (CAM, LW, CF)
Memphis Depay may be an impressive contract expiry signing, just 26-years-old, ranked 85 OVR with an 88 Cup and flying with Olympique Lyonnais.
Last season, the versatile Dutchman scored 14 goals in 19 games with two assists in each of his Champions League appearances, but he saw his season grind to a halt due to a rupture of the cruciate ligament.
His deal at FIFA 21 is for £120,000 per week, with the Dutch looking forward to ranking among the best expiry signings of the deal.
