Summer Transfers 2013: Best free transfers so far…

The best things in life are free but don’t forget the six-figure contract or the agent fee. Okay, so Janet and Luther didn’t quite sing it like that but when Monaco is flashing the big bucks along with PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea like spoilt rich kids, it’s left to the rest to strengthen on a budget.

Jordi Alba to Barcelona: Hard to resist when the Catalan club comes calling

Vilanova, Zubizarreta and the rest of the Barcelona hierarchy must be hating EURO 2012 right now. Partly because the heart of the team that will be going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid next year will return to pre-season training exhausted by another intense month of football, but mostly because their number one transfer target is currently one of the shining lights in Poland and Ukraine, with his valuation getting nudged up a million or two after each solid shift the fleet-footed full back-cum-winger puts in for La Roja.

UEFA Champions League Final: Players who missed out on the action

Gary Neville’s orgasmic reaction as Torres rounded Victor Valdes was swiftly the talk of Twitter, but the Geoff Shreeves masterclass on how not to break bad news was not far behind one of the biggest talking points besides events on the pitch at the Camp Nou.

Branislav Ivanovic as well as Ramires and Raul Meireles will be aware of their Champions League final absences as will the young Bayern trio of David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo. Those players who will take to the pitch at the Allianz Arena on May 19th will be even more determined to make sure those players who have been integral to their progression to the final will not go to waste.