Best FIFA 22 free agents & contract expiry players to sign on Career Mode

Andrew Amos

It’s important to make the right signings in your FIFA 22 Career Mode save early on. With the first signing window set to open up plenty of opportunities with new free agents and players on contract expiry, here’s the few you need to keep an eye out for.

On the Career Mode side of FIFA 22, there are plenty of new players to try and get on your squad. The best ones to look out for are those with upcoming contract expiries.

If you time it correctly, you’ll be able to scout away a big-name talent without having to pay a transfer fee. Instead, you’ll get them on a pre-contract agreement — in their last six months, they’ll agree to sign for your club for free once their initial contract ends.

With the Summer transfer window now over, there are plenty of star signings to nab at the end of it all in FIFA 22. Here are the top players with expiring contracts, and the best free agents you need to look out for.

Top FIFA 22 Career Mode players with contracts expiring in 2021-2022

Best contract expiry goalkeepers and defenders

The thing with FIFA 22 Career Mode is that the younger they are, the better they’ll be. Growth is a very overpowered stat in Career Mode, as your young stars will quickly overtake your ironed-on starters.

So when it comes to looking for players nearing the end of their contract, you can sometimes find a bargain on these younger players — especially if they’re in smaller clubs, or aren’t first-choice players. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa (FC Porto) and defender Hugo Siquet (Standard Liege) embody that.

However, there are some great older options that can instantly slot into your line-up when their contracts are up. Thomas Strakosha, Niklas Sule, and Antonio Rudiger fit the mold perfectly — and they’re all up for contract renewal in 2022.

FIFA 22 Antonio Rudiger
Rudiger might be 28, but with his Chelsea contract expiring in 2022, you could get him just at the end of his peak with a few years in the legs.

There are some other potential options: Hugo Lloris is out of contract in 2022, and if he doesn’t choose to retire he might have another 1-2 years in him for your club. Same goes for Juan Cuadrado after his stint at Juventus (Piemonte Calcio).

If you’re looking for someone younger, Atlanta United’s George Bello is a great pickup for a growing club — and he’s available for free in the first window with a 2021 contract expiry. Argentine keeper Jeronimo Pourtau is also another solid cheap, young signing.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Thomas Strakosha 26 Latium GK 80 83 £23.5m
Diogo Costa 21 FC Porto GK 73 85 £6m
Niklas Sule 25 Bayern Munchen CB 82 87 £36.5m
Antonio Rudiger 28 Chelsea CB 83 84 £31m
Alex Centelles 22 UD Almeria LB 75 85 £11m
Hugo Siquet 19 Standard Liege RB 69 83 £2.8m
Bryan Okoh 18 RB Salzburg CB 65 82 £575k

Best contract expiry midfielders

Midfielders-wise, there’s plenty of central players to choose from to add to your squad in your first or second season. Pedri, Paul Pogba, Franck Kessie, Boubacar Kamara, Lorenzo Pellegrini — all these players are up for grabs in 2022.

However. the biggest revelation on this list is Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho. If you are aware of this kid (and aren’t playing any hardcore Career Mode rules), you should sign him in just about every save. He’s cheap, and once he hits his potential, he’s one of the best midfielders in the game. You might have to snap him up quickly before his contract gets renewed though.

Pogba is capped at 87 potential, but he’s still a great option in any FIFA 22 Career Mode midfield.

It gets a bit more awkward as you look wider though. Truth be told, you’re much better opting for a winger instead of a LM or RM. There are still some options though, like Roberto Alvarado or Norwich’s Todd Cantwell.

Some MLS options like Alexandru Matan and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty are open. If you want players with expiring contracts in 2021, that’s the league to look out for in general.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Pedri 18 FC Barcelona CM 81 91 £48.5m
Paul Pogba 28 Manchester United CM 87 87 £71.5m
Franck Yannick Kessie 24 AC Milan CDM 84 86 £44.5m
Lorenzo Pellegrini 25 Roma FC CAM 81 86 £34m
Fabio Carvalho 19 Fulham CAM 67 86 £2.4m
Roberto Alvarado 22 Cruz Azul RM 76 73 £13.5m
Alexandru Matan 22 Columbus Crew LM 69 78 £2.8m
Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 17 Toronto FC RM 58 80 £180k

Best contract expiry wingers and strikers

You cannot talk about near-to-exiting strikers without bringing up cover star Kylian Mbappe. His 95 Potential is one of the highest in the game, and he could be yours once his contract expires in 2022 (if you are using a big-name club that can afford his wages).

However, he’s not the only big name up for grabs. Ansu Fati and Paulo Dybala also only have a year on their contracts, and could make great signings ahead of the second Summer window.

mbappe in fifa games
Kylian Mbappe could be yours as his contract expires in FIFA 22.

Where the real value lies up front though is in pacey, young options. Giacomo Raspadori and Adam Hlozek can slot into any side’s starting 11 from the moment you sign them.

However, if you can wait a couple of years, it’s good to sit on someone like Bournemouth’s Morgan Rogers. He is a great snatch-up at under £1 million for anyone looking to climb from the lower leagues. Basel’s Esposito has a bit more bench-rotation quality from the moment you sign if you need someone from Day 1.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Kylian Mbappe 22 Paris Saint-Germain ST 91 95 £174.5m
Ansu Fati 18 FC Barcelona LW 76 90 £15.5m
Paulo Dybala 27 Piemonte Calcio CF 87 88 £84m
Giacomo Raspadori 21 Sassuolo ST 74 88 £9.5m
Adam Hlozek 19 Sparta Praha ST 76 87 £14.5m
Morgan Rogers 19 Bournemouth LW 66 84 £850k
Sebastiano Esposito 19 FC Basel ST 68 85 £1.2m

Best FIFA 22 Free Agents to sign

Even though free agents won’t cost you a dime to sign, and you’ll have access to them immediately (no pre-contract agreements here), you do have to keep an eye on your wage bill. Just because they’re really highly rated and have no transfer fees attached doesn’t mean you can afford them.

That means, despite them being available in FIFA 22 as free agents, you might want to steer clear of picks like David Luiz, Jack Wilshere, and Serge Aurier (although the latter is decent if you can afford near to his previous wages).

Serge Aurier FIFA
Serge Aurier is one of the best free agents on the FIFA 22 Career Mode market.

You might only get a season or two out of some of these picks — but some can last you an entire career mode. Take a look at a player’s age when considering what your squad needs.

Plus, if you get a young star and develop them, you can sell them on for a huge profit once they’re maxed out.

Name Age Position OVR POT Wage
Charis Chatzigavriel 17 GK 58 84 £500
Matvey Safonov 22 GK 72 82 £6.8k
Michael Woud 22 GK 65 75 £1.9k
Toby Alderweireld 32 CB 83 83 £24k
Serge Aurier 28 LB 80 80 £77k
Aleš Matějů
25 RB 70 74 £14.5k
Milos Degenek 27 CB 73 76 £11.5k
Sebastian Szymanski 22 CAM 71 81 £8.6k
Arsen Zakharyan
18 CAM 70 84 £8.8k
Marko Stamenic 19 CM 62 80 £1.6k
Magomed Ozdoev 28 CDM 77 78 £16k
Elijah Just 21 LW 64 75 £2.9k
Artem Dovbyk 24 ST 69 74 £4k
Daniil Fomin 24 CM 73 78 £6.4k
Viktor Claesson 29 CAM 76 76 £24k
Callum McCowatt 22 ST 64 73 £180k
Giannis Tsoutsouki 17 CDM 53 73 £1k
Mitchell Duke 30 ST 67 67 £6.3k
James Jeggo 29 CM 68 68 £6.5k
Ferenc Tóth 20 ST 62 70 £2.6k
Fran Karačić 25 RB 68 73 £10.5k
Arsen Adamov 21 CB 67 74 £2.8k
János Hahn 26 ST 67 70 £4.5k
Conor Hazard 23 GK 65 75 £2.4k
Thomas Lam 27 CDM 67 69 £5.3k
Adrian Rus 25 CB 65 70 £1.6k
Kelvin Kalua 21 RB 59 67 £1.8k
Gyula Fehér 16 ST 57 70 £600
Stylianos Vrontis 16 CDM 52 67 £500
Stavros Georgiou 16 CF 52 62 £550

That’s all there is to the free agents and contract expiry list in FIFA 22 Career Mode.

However, if you’re looking for some more great pickups, check out our guides to the best Career Mode wonderkids, and find some more bargains.

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