The 2026 summer transfer window closed its doors on Tuesday evening. As usual, the last few hours have been particularly eventful, for better and for worse. In the midst of this turmoil, many players, including big names, remained stranded because they did not receive satisfactory offers or were simply forgotten. By compiling this impressive list, we can even build a team that looks good, at least on paper. This is the little exercise we followed, and here is the result.
He is certainly a little old, but Neto is a sure value as a goalkeeper. The Brazilian, who played for Fiorentina, Juventus and FC Barcelona, in particular, is coming off a solid final season with Botafogo. We can imagine that he intends to stay in the country to finish his career, but who knows if he would not accept a final challenge in Europe before hanging up his gloves for good?
Pol Lirola, the former OM right-back, was released last January, and took the opportunity to try his luck at Hellas Verona. Now free, he represents a good opportunity to complete his squad, and perhaps not only in Spanish Serie B or D2, as was discussed during the last days of the transfer window. The Spaniard trained at Juventus is only 29 years old…
Romain Saïss, who played for Valence, Clermont, Le Havre and Angers, had a successful career abroad, notably in the Premier League. Then leaving for Saudi Arabia then Qatar, the Moroccan central defender, captain during the epic of the Atlas Lions until the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup, recently retired internationally but has not yet left the field, waiting for the ideal base.
His silky left foot was one of the most sought after in Europe a few years ago. Trained in Caen, revealed in Lorient before spending 10 years in Germany, Raphaël Guerreiro has had a very rich career. Filled with titles after the last three years within the Bayern squad, the Portuguese international is still quite at the level, at 32, to deliver caviars from his left side. And score a few free kicks along the way.
[On the defensive bench: Francesco Acerbi, Chris Smalling, Deiver Machado, Oleksandr Zinchenko]
We move to midfield. Inter Milan manager for seven seasons, pillar of a Croatian team finalist in the 2018 World Cup for a decade, Marcelo Brozovic needs no introduction. That's good, his contract with Al-Nassr has just ended and he is looking to return to Europe for one last thrill.
This last season in Monaco, we saw Paul Pogba enjoying himself more in the social life of the Principality than on the pitch (six ends of the match). The ASM, which tried to make him a football player again, will not have succeeded in its bet. But despite his precarious physical condition, the 2018 world champion remains a star that we inevitably want to see revive. At 33, he can't leave the field like that. The MLS, where his friend Antoine Griemzann left this summer, could be a base. Unless an Italian club is tempted.
To complete this three-way midfielder, we chose to get news from Philippe Coutinho, lost sight of since his return to Brazil in 2024. The man who once cost 120 million euros (Barça's financial director still remembers it) did not make it to the end of his second season in the Vasco da Gama jersey, but he has a decent record with the club from his beginnings (78 games, 15 goals). He decided to terminate his contract last February.
[On the bench in midfield: Tanguy Ndombélé, Yves Bissouma, Isamaël Bennacer, Sofiane Boufal]
Make way for the offensive trio. To lead it, who other than Karim Benzema? The 2022 Golden Ball has just announced his departure from Al-Hilal, by mutual agreement with the Saudi club. Always so enigmatic in his messages, the former Lyonnais and emblem of Real Madrid has not given any clues for his immediate future. We can't wait to find out.
Things are not going very well for Anthony Martial. At only 30 years old, the former Manchester United striker finds himself in an impasse, after a short stint at AEK Athens then an experience in Mexico which turned into a fiasco. His agent will have to be convincing to find him a club.
But what is Jadon Sancho doing in this list? We wonder that too, as the Englishman won the Europa League with Aston Villa three months ago and was part of the national team at the World Cup. Great hope of English football, transferred to Manchester United for 85 million euros in 2021, the winger never managed to establish himself there. Loaned to Dortmund, Chelsea and finally Villa, he reaches the end of his long-term contract with MU this summer. The 26-year-old is not expected to remain free for very long, it is rumored that Borussia is considering bringing him back to the fold with the serious injury to their recruit Giannis Konstantelias.
[Sur le banc en attaque : Raheem Sterling, Mauro Icardi, Wilfried Zaha, Adnan Januzaj, Stephan El Shaarawy, Mbaye Niang]
