Fixing Manchester United must appeal to new signings more than joining this Newcastle journey, while there is an eternal No 1) in terms of transfer allure.
20) Marseille
Roberto De Zerbi seems intent to go against the grain by employing a recruitment strategy specifically centred around signing…problematic…characters, but there is an obvious attraction to working with the Italian, living on the Mediterranean coast and playing European football without the pressure of actually winning anything.
There is certainly an argument that Monaco belong here instead, as Paul Pogba would attest.
19) Bournemouth
By making their unspoken role as a transfer stepping stone a part of their actual identity, Bournemouth have established themselves as a destination worth considering for any aspiring player.
A self-described “platform club” who have proven capable of not only coaching and developing to an elite standard but also being willing to sell when the time is right is particularly appealing, not least to agents who might project bigger moves down the line.
And there is an undeniable pull to working with Andoni Iraola, who could deliver European football next season and crucially stay for that part of an exciting journey.
18) RB Leipzig
It is a similar situation at Leipzig, whose very purpose as the finishing school of the Red Bull institution is to polish the gems inherited elsewhere from within their multi-club ownership model and move them on to Europe’s elite for ludicrous profit.
“We are confirming it every single summer in every transfer window, we are the perfect club for young players, to help them for a certain time in their career and then to bring them to absolutely top clubs,” said Leipzig managing director of sport Marcel Schafer last year.
There is now also the remote prospect of at least entering the same orbit as that massive sell-out Jurgen Klopp.
17) Spurs
The notion of a Big Six remains contentious for many but it has almost never been the actual best six because that isn’t the point.
The crisis baton is passed and often shared between Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Spurs, whose competence levels have rarely converged over the last decade. Yet they remain far and away the richest clubs in the Premier League with the clearest in-built advantages. Spurs lag behind the other five in that respect, but in the same vein every other club in the country – and most across Europe – cannot touch Spurs in terms of infrastructure.
Their shift towards a focus on signing younger talents and helping them evolve is also enticing, while the opportunity to work with Thomas Frank could become as big a pull as Ange Postecoglou absolutely was.
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16) Juventus
There is no better place to go in Italy if money is a driving factor, with Juventus claiming the highest wage bill in Serie A. But the Old Lady has shown her age somewhat in these fallow post-Scudetto years, being overtaken by a handful of clubs run more capably.
This remains a team in transition, with uncertainty over their manager, sporting director and a transfer policy still contingent on player churn and loans with various clauses attached.
The name value and reputation undoubtedly remains but Juventus have also not made the Champions League quarter-finals since 2019 and have two Coppas Italia to show for the last five seasons.
15) Benfica
The best sellers in world football this century, with a Champions League stage and plenty of domestic trophies to offer while being moulded into an auction-worthy star. The model works for a reason.
14) Newcastle United
There is an undoubted upward trajectory to Newcastle which could prove impossible to resist for any player who wishes to be part of something meaningful – and financially lucrative.
The Magpies do not feel far off becoming frequent Champions League qualifiers and an established domestic force, with regular loads of sportswashing capable of reinforcing that position once they finally get there.
Yet this has been a deeply chastening summer of rejection and excuses for Newcastle. Being turned down for Real Madrid or Chelsea is one thing, but losing so conclusively in direct transfer battles with Manchester United is another.
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13) Atletico Madrid
There’s no shame in Atletico having basically one trump card to play that no other team can boast. Diego Simeone is their ace, their only feasible edge in any transfer race competed on even footing against other Champions League regulars. And he is going nowhere, probably even when Arsenal come calling.
12) Napoli
The lure of sitting under the Scott McTominay learning tree cannot be sniffed at but there is a definite elephant in the room when it comes to Napoli’s transfer lure.
Antonio Conte is simultaneously their biggest pull and most prominent red flag for prospective signings. Napoli have won Serie A twice in three seasons but with a managerial ticking time bomb liable to go off any time soon, and the volatile Aurelio De Laurentiis still in a position of power, it would be a risk to join even with their renewed offering of Champions League football.
11) Manchester United
Do not underestimate the allure of being the player who can rouse a sleeping giant. Manchester United could do worse than making it part of their negotiation pitch that incoming signings might be the one player who can fix them.
Bruno Fernandes committing the best years of his career to a certified basket case proves it can work, as does Matheus Cunha rejecting Champions League football for Old Trafford with Bryan Mbeumo hoping to follow suit.
Things have obviously changed since Robinho was caught off-guard by the revelation that there were two Premier League clubs based in Manchester, and United have been drowned out by many more teams than their noisy neighbours.
But they can still genuinely compete with the best in the transfer market in spite of their own failings, and if more than a decade of general irrelevancy has done little to change that then nothing will.
10) Borussia Dortmund
The established cliche used to be that Bayern would sign the best players from Dortmund, who in turn would shop in the smaller Bundesliga markets. But it doesn’t really apply anymore, with free agent Raphael Guerreiro the only player since 2016 to cross the divide and leave Germany’s second-biggest fish for the bona fide shark.
Dortmund cannot even lay consistent claim to being the country’s perennial bridesmaid. They have finished 3rd, 4th or 5th more often than they have 2nd in the last nine Bundesliga seasons.
They are still Dortmund and the idea of following in the footsteps of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham works in their favour. But the further smaller those examples in the rear window, the better chance Leverkusen and others have of usurping them.
9) Chelsea
“I don’t know why as a player I would look at that Chelsea project and think I would sign,” said Jamie Carragher last August. But really the reasons are numerous and obvious when looking past the instinct of laughing at how batsh*t it all is: money, a long-term contract, a chance to work with excellent players and coaches, regular European football, trophy-winning pedigree and life in London.
There might be an element of reticence to join a club which has shown such scant and consistent disregard for players it no longer deems of value, but that rather ignores the ingrained egotism of professional athletes who believe they are so good that such treatment will never befall them.
8) Inter
Champions League finalists in two of the last three seasons, Inter have been meticulously and impressively rebuilt in the image of Simone Inzaghi and Beppe Marotta. But throwing any sort of financial weight around has not really been their thing since the ludicrous spending of the 1990s.
While they have some obvious incentives to offer, Christian Chivu has a rebuild on his hands and it ultimately tends to come down to money; Inter are perfectly happy to target players eager to join them for sporting reasons instead.
7) Bayern Munich
There isn’t really a box Bayern don’t tick. They have a ridiculous economic advantage in a league they are favourites to win each season, with a raft of brilliant players, a wonderful stadium, the guarantee of Champions League football every year and a charismatic coach.
As the breakers of the Harry Kane trophy curse the only thing that can possibly stand against them is a bias towards Premier League teams, but the capture of England’s captain, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise against intense competition shows that they can hold their own in those battles too.
6) Arsenal
One of the crucial factors behind Arsenal’s club-record signing of Declan Rice – probably their last uncontestably brilliant transfer and definitely one of few they have had to compete against other teams for – will only apply for so long.
It was said that Rice was tempted to join Arsenal over Manchester City because Mikel Arteta’s pitch involved the midfielder being ‘the driving force to take his young side to the next level’, the alternative being a role as one of many cogs in the Etihad machine. He was, if not the final piece in the Gunners jigsaw, then one of the last. And that plays to a player’s self-worth.
But Arsenal will need to deliver on that promise at some point; the trophy tilts must be converted into something tangible for the process to work, not least because these constant near-misses undermine the reign of Arteta.
5) Manchester City
And for some, being an Etihad cog is a fine and fair trade-off for the opportunity to work under Pep Guardiola, win trophies and be paid handsomely for the privilege.
While Guardiola and the owners are there, Manchester City have two distinct advantages over most when all things are otherwise even. That could change when the former leaves and absolutely would if the latter ever does, but Erling Haaland responded to the looming threat of demotions by signing a 1o-year contract so they will probably be fine.
4) Liverpool
They might not be the sexiest option in the Premier League but they do feel like the most sensible and stable. Klopp left behind some strong foundations and Liverpool have a higher floor than most others as a result, while Arne Slot is still trying to find their ceiling.
Liverpool have finished in the Premier League top five in each of the last nine seasons and played Champions League football in seven of those. The champions they may be, but there are enough gaps in that starting XI for prospective signings to think they can break through, as evidenced by this summer splurge.
3) Barcelona
The appointment of Hansi Flick has certainly helped Barcelona regain their footing in the world game, although the emergence of some ludicrously gifted academy products might have played a part too.
There remain some doubts over whether they can actually afford to register the players they sign, and the definitely absolutely certainly real corruption against them could put some off, but if any iteration of Barca come knocking you answer, and this one is finally taking steps to sort itself out.
2) PSG
The one mark PSG had against has been meticulously erased by the brilliance of Luis Enrique. Their inability to convert domestic hegemony into European glory haunted them for years but a shift away from relying on superstars to emphasise instead the importance of the team has transformed them into the strongest unit the Parc des Princes has ever produced.
They pay the highest wages and basically guarantee a couple of trophies a season when all is said and done, making it slightly easier to grin and bear living in actual Paris for a bit.
1) Real Madrid
Still the one club no-one turns down. Even in big 2025 that concept is alien to some who believe their club, players or supporters are special and different enough to counteract decades of self-fulfilling importance. They are not and never will be.
Real Madrid shattered the world transfer record to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Champions League runners-up Manchester United at the end of a season in which they were eliminated 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the round of 16, lost in the first round of the Copa del Rey to Real Union and finished a distant second to Barcelona in La Liga.
They tempted Trent Alexander-Arnold into ending a 21-year union with the Reds despite being comfortably beaten in this campaign’s quarter-finals by Arsenal and ending up with a new manager and no trophies of note.
It’s not personal and it’s not an insult. Real Madrid just tend to get what they want.
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