As contract dates roll over—typically June 30—dozens of World Cup players are facing life after their current clubs. From John Stones at Manchester City to Mohamed Salah at Liverpool and Luka Modric at AC Milan, the tournament is becoming a high-stakes auditio
The World Cup has always been football’s biggest stage. But for a growing group of players, it’s also a countdown.
Most contracts expire on June 30. and for more than 25 players at this tournament. the final whistle can’t just mean celebration—it can mean uncertainty. The performances coming in North America aren’t only chasing glory for their countries. They’re trying to steer their next contracts, and the best offers, toward them.
Here is the updated list of players who are out of contract at this World Cup, along with their last club:
Abdul Mumin. 27. Ghana (Last club: Rayo Vallecano) Angus Gunn. 30. Scotland (Last club: Nottingham Forest) Axel Tuanzebe. 28. DR Congo (Last club: Burnley) Bamba Dieng. 26. Senegal (Last club: Lorient) Casemiro. 34. Brazil (Last club: Manchester United) Chancel Mbemba. 31. DR Congo (Last club: Lille) Daichi Kamada. 29. Japan (Last club: Crystal Palace — Kamada is expected to sign a new contract with Palace) David Alaba. 33. Austria (Last club: Real Madrid) Fabinho. 32.
Brazil (Last club: Al Ittihad) Franck Kessie. 29. Ivory Coast (Last club: Al Ahli) Gideon Mensah. 27. Ghana (Last club: Auxerre) James Rodriguez. 34. Colombia (Last club: Minnesota United) John Stones. 32. England (Last club: Manchester City) Kaku. 31. Paraguay (Last club: Al Ain) Leon Goretzka. 31. Germany (Last club: Bayern Munich) Luka Modric. 40. Croatia (Last club: AC Milan — option for a one-year extension) Mohamed Salah. 33. Egypt (Last club: Liverpool) Nabil Bentaleb.
31. Algeria (Last club: Lille) Orjan Nyland. 35. Norway (Last club: Sevilla) Salih Ozcan. 28. Turkey (Last club: Borussia Dortmund) Takehiro Tomiyasu. 27. Japan (Last club: Ajax) Thomas Meunier. 34. Belgium (Last club: Lille) Thomas Partey. 32. Ghana (Last club: Villarreal) Xaver Schlager. 28. Austria (Last club: RB Leipzig) Zeki Celik. 29. Turkey (Last club: Roma).
For all of them, the tournament doubles as a window—and for some, a lifeline. A sharp run of games can change how clubs see risk. A late injury or a quiet spell can turn a potential signing into a question mark.
Consider Orjan Nyland. Once a Championship goalkeeper with Aston Villa and Reading. he played the majority of La Liga games for Sevilla in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before Greece international Odysseas Vlachodimos took the starting spot last season. During his two seasons as a regular. Sevilla were close to the relegation zone. but Nyland prevented close to 1.8 goals across 59 games for Sevilla. according to the expected goals conceded metric. and was capable of playing out with his feet. The 35-year-old has been Norway’s No 1 in their first men’s World Cup since 1998. and with close to 70 international caps and experience in English and Spanish football. he could serve as a useful squad player to his next team.
Then there’s Zeki Celik. who won a Ligue 1 title with Lille in 2020-21 and spent the last four seasons in Serie A with Roma. With experience in the Champions League and Europa League, he’s a right-back with versatility to play centre-back and wing-back. In the last season. Celik received 15 passes per game in the attacking third. showing confidence getting high. while only Inter’s Federico Dimarco delivered more low crosses than Celik in the Italian top flight. For Turkey. the 29-year-old started two out of three games in a tournament that saw them eliminated in the group stage.
The World Cup has also carried momentum for players who endured setbacks in club careers. Axel Tuanzebe, a Manchester United academy product, suffered back-to-back Premier League relegations with Ipswich Town and Burnley. He started 14 league games last season after missing time with an Achilles tendon injury earlier in the year. At this World Cup. Tuanzebe has been at the heart of DR Congo’s defense. helping them progress to the knockouts for the first time in their history after a win over Uzbekistan and holding Portugal to a draw. With regular fights for Premier League survival behind him, the piece connects him to Coventry City, who have been promoted.
John Stones’ situation is different, but the stakes still feel immediate. The center-back ended a trophy-laden decade at Manchester City last season. He won 16 trophies at City. including six league titles and the 2023 Champions League. and his technical ability was trusted enough by Pep Guardiola for him to operate as a holding midfielder at times from the 2022-23 season onwards. Now 32, Stones hasn’t played consistently over recent years—only nine times last campaign—and picked up various injury issues. Even so. his quality when fit helped earn him selection in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. and he started in the opening game against Croatia.
David Alaba is also navigating a familiar kind of uncertainty. The Austria captain will leave Real Madrid this summer after five years at the club. winning two La Liga and Champions League titles. This World Cup is his first. and while he started all three group games—managing about an hour in each—his recent club role was limited. He has only started nine league games over the last two seasons. Alaba has had the versatility to play center-back. left-back and holding midfield under managers such as Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti. but his time at Madrid included various injuries. including a ruptured ACL in December 2023 that kept him out for over a year.
Casemiro’s story is one of finishing strong at the end of a contract. In January, Manchester United announced he would leave when his contract expires. Still. the 34-year-old was one of the club’s most consistent performers last season. making 111 league appearances for United after signing from Real Madrid for £60 million ($80m) in 2022. His time at Old Trafford included a mixed period. with former Liverpool player and pundit Jamie Carragher declaring his “legs had gone” in October 2023. But Casemiro ended his United career on a high: he finished with nine goals—only three United players outscored the midfielder—scoring with an uncanny ability to get on the end of Bruno Fernandes’s crosses.
Leon Goretzka. another name whose contract is ending. proved valuable in an exciting Bayern Munich side in his eighth and last season with the Bundesliga champions. Head coach Vincent Kompany used the midfielder 31 times in the league in a holding role. as a No 8. and he is also capable of playing more advanced. The utility and energetic style of play are the reason he’s framed as an attractive option this summer.
For Franck Kessie, the question isn’t only football form—it’s also money. The former Milan and Barcelona midfielder will be out of contract with Saudi club Al Ahli. Kessie. who has over 100 caps for his country and won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. has performed well at the World Cup. playing 90 minutes in two of three games and scoring against Germany. The 29-year-old is a goal threat from midfield and scored 12 goals in the Saudi league last season. The central issue is whether clubs will match his substantial salary and whether his high level has been maintained after four seasons in the league.
And then there’s Mohamed Salah, whose end-of-contract moment carries the weight of legacy. Salah will leave Liverpool as one of their greatest players. Although his renewed contract last year ran until 2027, the club reached an agreement to end his nine-year stay this summer. His output dropped off last season—seven goals and seven assists—compared to the 2024-25 season when he finished as the Premier League’s top scorer and creator with 29 goals and 18 assists. With a basic weekly wage of £400,000 ($533,000) at Liverpool, few clubs might be able to afford him. Yet at 33, he takes pride in his conditioning and remains one of the biggest names in football.
James Rodriguez’s run here comes with history and a practical motive. It was his 2014 World Cup that earned him a move from Monaco to Real Madrid. finishing as the tournament’s Golden Boot winner with six goals as Colombia reached the quarter-final. Since then. the now 34-year-old has drifted between clubs playing in England. Greece. Qatar. Brazil. Spain. Mexico and most recently the United States for Minnesota United. who he joined to gain fitness for the World Cup but only featured six times in the MLS.
As Colombia’s captain, James started all three group games as they topped the standings above Portugal. He has adapted to a lack of pace by playing as a deep-lying wide player, still possessing great vision and passing.
Bamba Dieng’s World Cup situation reflects another common reality for free agents: injuries and timing. Dieng has played in France since moving to Marseille in 2021. but injury troubles have limited his game time over the past few seasons. Last season for Lorient, he played 39 percent of games in Ligue 1. When fit, Dieng has been prolific in the French league, scoring 10 goals from 15 starts last campaign. At 26, the piece places him as being in his prime.
The list may read like a sports feature, but the underlying story is immediate. Contracts are ending, roles are changing, and the World Cup is compressing all of it into a few high-visibility matches.
One thread runs through the players named here: some are entering the market after major achievements, others after injuries, and still others after club decisions that were already made. What happens in these games—who starts, who stays healthy, who delivers—will shape what comes next.
The players out of contract at this World Cup are not just watching their teams compete. They’re trying to earn a future before June 30 becomes a line they can’t cross.
World Cup free agents contract expires June 30 John Stones Mohamed Salah Luka Modric Casemiro David Alaba football transfers