JESE RODRIGUEZ is the latest big-name star to hit the free agent market after he was sacked by Paris Saint-Germain.
The former Stoke and Real Madrid man, 27, was accused of cheating on his partner with her model friend.
The best XI of available free agents ahead of the January window
Rodriguez was also pictured at a party in Gran Canaria ignoring social distancing rules and without any face masks.
PSG promptly decided to rip up his contract six months early after the sex scandal left a ‘stain’ on the club, according to club chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
The Spanish left-winger is now available to join a new team on a free transfer in January.
And Rodriguez is not the only big-name to be desperately hunting a new club…
GK – Orjan Nyland
Nyland is a free agent after leaving Villa in the summer
THE Norwegian goalkeeper had his contract at Aston Villa terminated by mutual consent earlier this summer.
Nyland slipped behind Tom Heaton and Emiliano Martinez in the pecking order – and was arguably also below Jed Steer.
RB – Antonio Valencia
Valencia quit Quito at the end of the 2020 season
AFTER leaving Manchester United after a decade in 2019, Valencia headed home to Ecuador to play for L. D. U. Quito.
Valencia played 32 times – scoring three times – but was released and is now available on a free.
CB – Ezequiel Garay
Garay was released by Valencia in the summer
THE former Real Madrid star was released by Valencia after a four-year stint at the end of last season.
The 33-year-old Argentina international has previously played for Benfica and Zenit in Europe.
LB – Daryl Janmaat
Janmaat left Watford in October after four years at the club
JANMAAT spent six years in the Premier League at Newcastle and then Watford.
But he was released by the Hornets in October, along with Danny Welbeck, and is available on a free.
Liverpool were rumoured to be interested for a brief spell following injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
CDM – Ramires
Ramires is a free agent after leaving Brazilian side PalmeirasCredit: Reuters
CHELSEA fans will remember Ramires best, after the Brazilian’s incredible chip when 2-0 down against Barcelona helped fire the Blues to the Champions League final in 2011-12.
After six years at Stamford Bridge, Ramires quit to head to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning in 2016.
In 2019, he moved home to Brazil to play for Palmeiras, but managed just 22 games in two seasons and was released last month.
Ramires won the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup during his time in England.
CM – Jack Wilshere
Wilshere is hunting for a new club after having his West Ham contract mutually terminated
WILSHERE had his £100,000-a-week contract terminated by mutual consent after failing to prove himself at the London Stadium in the summer.
Once again, Wilshere struggled for consistency due to his recurring injury problems.
He is now desperately hunting a new club, with Rangers leading the race, according to the bookies.
CM – Samir Nasri
Nasri was most recently released by Anderlecht after struggling in BelgiumCredit: Getty Images – Getty
THE Frenchman spent nine seasons in England with Arsenal and Manchester City between 2008 and 2017.
In that time, Nasri won two Premier League titles at the Etihad before moving to Sevilla on loan and then Antalyaspor permanently in August 2017.
He lasted just five months in Turkey before having his contract torn up and was hit with a six-month doping ban by Fifa in February 2018 for his ‘Drip Doctors’ treatment.
Nasri has since struggled at West Ham and Anderlecht – and is now a free agent.
RW – Hulk
Hulk has left Shanghai SIPG and is available to join a new team on a free
HULK has officially left Shanghai SIPG four years after first joining – and could now move to the Premier League on a free transfer.
The Brazilian star, 34, is available for nothing in January after rejecting a new deal in China earlier this year.
Hulk has been linked with a host of Premier League sides, as well as with a return to Porto.
Earlier this year, the ex-Porto and Zenit star admitted he had offers from ‘Turkey, Portugal, England, Spain, Italy, Germany and China’.
LW – Jese Rodriguez
Rodrigez was sacked by PSG after a sex scandal and for flouting Covid rulesCredit: Twitter @aurahruiz
RODRIGUEZ played nearly 100 times for Real Madrid between 2011 and 2016 before moving to PSG.
But he struggled to live up to the hype in France and was loaned to Las Palmas, Stoke, Real Betis and Sporting.
All-in-all, Rodriguez played just 22 minutes this season – and a mere 18 games since heading to Paris.
He saw his contract terminated at the weekend and will now be available to join a new team on a free next month.
ST – Daniel Sturridge
Sturridge has been out of work since March after leaving Trabzonspor
THE former Liverpool striker has been a free agent since being let go by Turkish side Trabzonspor in March.
Ex-England star Sturridge, 31, had been on the radar of Sheffield United in the summer – but they opted to bring in Rhian Brewster instead.
Most-recently, Sturridge was seen training with eighth-tier Kidsgrove Athletic in a bid to stay fit.
The ex-Chelsea and Manchester City star revealed he would pay ‘any amount’ of money to finally be free of his injury woes.
ST – Mario Mandzukic
Mandzukic is a free agent after leaving Qatari side Al-Duhail
AFTER just ten games at Qatari side Al-Duhail, Mandzukic had his contract ripped up by mutual consent a year after leaving Juventus.
The Croatian star, 34, had been tipped with moves to the likes of Inter Milan and Fiorentina in the summer.
But the ex-Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid star is still currently a free agent.
Shanghai SIPG’s Hulk shows off his rippling muscles as he works out on the treadmill
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
