To the modern generation of football supporter, free signings of out-of-contract players are a long-established aspect of the transfer landscape.
For over a quarter of a century now, a key element of many clubs’ recruitment strategies has involved identifying players coming to the end of their current deals - often a year or two in advance - who can be enticed with an attractive signing-on fee and salary package in lieu of a fee to the selling club.
Liverpool’s first experience of the ‘Bosman’ system - named after the Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman, whose landmark legal case at the European Court of Justice in 1995 concerning freedom of movement for workers meant clubs could no longer retain the registration of players they no longer held under contract - was not a positive one, losing one of their most talented homegrown stars Steve McManaman to Real Madrid for nothing in 1999.
