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You don’t always have to pay a hefty transfer fee to get quality players
In fact, sometimes you don’t have to pay any transfer fee at all. There are plenty of high potential and high OVR players in FIFA 15 who will join your team for nothing, and the only payments you have to make are for their wages. That can be especially useful if you’re doing a career with a lower league team where money is tight, but any team can benefit from free transfers.
So if you’ve never tried getting players for free in FIFA 15 before, I’ve put together this series to help you find the best free players available to buy.
How do I get players for free in FIFA 15?
That’s easy – once you’ve found the player you want, just find them in the January transfer window and press ‘approach to sign on contract expiry’. Just wait a couple of days for them to mull over the contract, and if they accept then they will join your team at the end of the season.
But you can’t sign any player this way – they must be aged 23 or above by the time the January transfer window ends and have a year left on their contract (i.e. it will expire at the end of the season).
How do I find these free players?
Well, you could send your scout to various countries looking for players whose contracts are expiring. Of course, the problem with that is that it all depends on the quality of your scout – poor scouts might miss plenty of free players.
But given how unreliable that is, you’re much better off coming here and checking out my guides. Just have a browse of the list below – I’ve included every player who can be signed for free and has a minimum potential of 75, so you know you’re getting top quality players all round (and check out my other guides in this series for more free players).
All the OVRs listed below are true at the start of a career. When they join your team their OVR is likely to have changed, so you can expect the players to be even better than how they’re listed below, provided they’re not aged over 30. If they are, don’t be surprised if their OVR has declined.
Let’s check out my recommendations.
Recommendations
Fabian Schär is so good, he could play in a number of different positions
The elite option
Though there are free centre backs with higher OVRs than Fabian Schär, few have stats as good as he does. 91 strength, 81 jumping and 83 heading make him dominant physically, while his 77 acceleration, 79 sprint speed and 81 stamina make him able to match all but the fastest strikers for pace. Add in his excellent tackling and 82 potential, and you have one outstanding player.
What makes him even better is his flexibility. Thanks to his 81 long passing and 74 short passing, he can easily play in central midfield, while his 80 shot power means he could even score a goal or two from distance. He’s even got 65 finishing – unusually good for a centre back – and his 81 penalties will see him contributing crucial goals when the pressure is on.
Jerry Akaminko has some of the best tackling stats in this article
The mid-range option
If you’re looking for a player with physical stats to match Schär, give Jerry Akaminko a try. His 80 acceleration and 83 sprint speed make him even faster than Schär (although his 77 strength isn’t quite as good), so you don’t need to worry about him getting caught out by a ball over the top.
Although he doesn’t possess as wide a range of skills as Schär, Akaminko’s tackling stats are some of the best in this article. 82 slide tackle, 79 marking and 71 stand tackle will make him very hard to beat with the ball on the deck, while his 80 jumping should help him deal with most crosses into the box. So if you’re looking for a player with some of the best core defensive stats available in this article, Akaminko is your man.
William Rémy has fantastic physical stats for such a cheap player
The budget option
Schär and Akaminko are great, but you may find that their wages are too high for your team. If that’s the case, look no further than William Rémy. With physical stats similar to Schär – 76 acceleration, 80 sprint speed and 88 strength – Rémy is extremely difficult to beat by even the best forwards.
His strong tackling stats and impressive aerial ability complete the picture, rounded off by his super affordable wages – £8,000 a week will secure his services. Considering there is no transfer fee to pay, Rémy is one of the best bargain centre backs money can buy.
Honourable mention: Simone Romagnoli.
OVR: 68, potential: 75, age: 24, club: Carpi, wages: £1,000.
NOTE: Although I mentioned earlier that players have to be 23 to be eligible, there may be some entries in these articles whose age is 22. That’s because they start a career aged 22, but by the time January arrives they are 23 and can be signed for free.
Also, Kim Young Gwon is a free agent. That means his wages, club and even contract length can vary from career to career. On one career you may find he is available to sign for free, in another you many find he is not. Still, he is worth checking out because – like my other recommendations – he is fast, strong and has excellent all round ability.
Anyway, let’s check out the list in full:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Wages (£) | Club | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | Fabian Schär | 75 | 82 | 22 | £25,000 | FC Basel | Right | 4 | 2 | Strength, power header |
| CB | Naldo | 82 | 82 | 31 | £90,000 | VfL Wolfsburg | Right | 4 | 2 | Aerial threat, power free-kick, injury prone, power header |
| CB | Carlos Zambrano | 77 | 80 | 24 | £45,000 | Eint. Frankfurt | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Ron Vlaar | 79 | 79 | 29 | £50,000 | Aston Villa | Right | 4 | 2 | Strength, power free-kick, injury prone |
| CB | Egemen Korkmaz | 78 | 78 | 31 | £40,000 | Fenerbahçe SK | Left | 2 | 2 | Strength, power header |
| CB | Andrea Ranocchia | 76 | 78 | 26 | £80,000 | Inter | Right | 3 | 2 | Aerial threat, power header |
| CB | Weligton | 77 | 77 | 34 | £25,000 | Málaga CF | Left | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Lorenzo Tonelli | 75 | 77 | 24 | £30,000 | Empoli | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Kolo Touré | 77 | 77 | 33 | £50,000 | Liverpool | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Borja Ekiza | 73 | 76 | 26 | £20,000 | SD Eibar | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Ricardo Carvalho | 76 | 76 | 36 | £30,000 | AS Monaco | Right | 3 | 2 | Injury prone |
| CB | Rio Ferdinand | 76 | 76 | 35 | £35,000 | QPR | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Carlos Gurpegi | 76 | 76 | 33 | £40,000 | Athletic Bilbao | Right | 3 | 2 | Injury prone |
| CB | Sylvain Distin | 76 | 76 | 36 | £40,000 | Everton | Left | 2 | 2 | Strength, long throw-in |
| CB | Sebastian Prödl | 75 | 76 | 27 | £40,000 | Werder Bremen | Right | 2 | 2 | Strength, power header |
| CB | Philippe Mexès | 76 | 76 | 32 | £70,000 | Milan | Right | 3 | 2 | Injury prone, power header |
| CB | Simone Romagnoli | 68 | 75 | 24 | £1,000 | Carpi | Right | 2 | 2 | |
| CB | William Rémy | 69 | 75 | 23 | £8,000 | Dijon FCO | Right | 3 | 2 | Strength |
| CB | Vitaliy Dyakov | 69 | 75 | 25 | £8,000 | FC Rostov | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Pedro Mendes | 70 | 75 | 23 | £15,000 | Parma | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Diego Colotto | 75 | 75 | 33 | £20,000 | RCD Espanyol | Right | 3 | 2 | Power header |
| CB | Wes Brown | 75 | 75 | 34 | £20,000 | Sunderland | Right | 3 | 2 | Injury prone |
| CB | Richard Dunne | 75 | 75 | 34 | £20,000 | QPR | Right | 2 | 2 | Strength, long passer, power header |
| CB | Jerry Akaminko | 72 | 75 | 26 | £20,000 | Eskişehirspor | Right | 2 | 2 | |
| CB | Brou Benjamin Angoua | 72 | 75 | 27 | £20,000 | EA Guingamp | Right | 2 | 2 | |
| CB | Slobodan Rajković | 71 | 75 | 25 | £20,000 | Hamburger SV | Left | 3 | 2 | Strength, injury prone |
| CB | David Lombán | 71 | 75 | 27 | £20,000 | Elche CF | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Heiko Westermann | 75 | 75 | 30 | £30,000 | Hamburger SV | Right | 3 | 2 | Long passer, power header |
| CB | Felipe | 72 | 75 | 26 | £30,000 | VfL Wolfsburg | Right | 3 | 2 | |
| CB | Sergio Sánchez | 75 | 75 | 28 | £35,000 | Málaga CF | Right | 2 | 2 | |
| CB | Kim Young Gwon | 71 | 75 | 24 | Left | 3 | 2 |
Thanks for reading! I’d like to hear if you have any thoughts about the format of this article. Did you find it useful? Conversely, do you think it was missing something that you’d have liked me to include? Make sure you leave all your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
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