Pogba, Lewandowski and the best free transfers of the decade

After a successful spell at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won 12 trophies, including four Ligue 1 titles, Ibrahimovic decided to join Manchester United in 2016.

The Swede scored 28 goals in all competitions as he helped the Old Trafford club win the League Cup, Europa League and get back into the Champions League – despite a serious injury keeping him out of the latter stages of the season.

He did return to play five matches for the Red Devils the following season, but moved on to MLS side LA Galaxy in March 2018.

After a difficult final season with Bayern Munich in 2010-11, Miroslav Klose was allowed to join Lazio on a free transfer. 

The striker was 33 at the time but he took Italian football by storm, netting 63 times across 171 appearances for the Roman club. 

Klose also claimed his final piece of silverware with Lazio, helping the Biancocelesti win the Coppa Italia in 2013. 

The Canaries snared the Finnish striker from Brondby to spearhead their Championship campaign in 2018-19 after he failed to agree to a new contract with the Danish club.

Pukki repaid the faith with an extraordinary 29-goal campaign that helped propel Norwich into the Premier League after a three-season absence from the top flight.

The 29-year-old has impressed during his first campaign in England's top-flight, with nine goals in 20 games – including six in five to start the season.

Incredibly, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger signed Mathieu Flamini twice on a free transfer – in 2004 and 2013.

The midfielder's first spell in north London ended in 2008 when left as a free agent to join Serie A side AC Milan.

But Wenger decided to bring him back from Italy five years later and Flamini went on to play a further 93 times for the Gunners, winning two FA Cups with the club before leaving for Crystal Palace in 2016.

After falling down the pecking order at Real Madrid, Sami Khedira departed for Juventus in 2015. 

Although his influence may now have faded, the Germany international played a significant role in three of the Bianconeri's past four Scudetto triumphs.

Khedira also notably found his shooting boots in Turin, scoring nine goals across the 2017-18 season – the same number he managed across four years with Madrid. 

Injuries have severely reduced his game time of late but he continues to prove very good value for money every time he plays.

Jesus Navas' return to Sevilla in 2017 looked like a classic case of a player going home in order to wind down his career. However, the former Manchester City winger has been reborn at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Having been occasionally utilised as a right-back at the Etihad by Pep Guardiola, the free transfer made the role his own at Sevilla, with his fine form not only earning him the captain's armband but also eventually leading to him being recalled to the Spain squad in March – after a six-year absence.

The Rojiblancos even decided to re-name their main stand after Navas!

Cazorla, a two-time FA Cup winner with Arsenal, was at the peak of his powers when he was struck down by a knee injury in December 2015.

After recovering in time for the start of the 2015-16 season, Cazorla was laid low by the recurrence of an ankle injury he suffered while playing for Spain two years earlier.

Following multiple surgeries on the ankle after the wounds became infected and failed to heal, Cazorla was told there was a chance his foot might need to be amputated and he also lost eight centimetres of Achilles tendon to infection.

As he hit 33 and went 18 months without playing football, Arsenal released the Spaniard and he was signed by former club Villarreal.

Now 35, Cazorla has worked his way back into top form in La Liga, scoring five goals and getting four assists, while also returning to the Spanish national team squad in June.

After 16 trophy-laden seasons at Real Madrid, Raul opted to take his goals to the Bundesliga as he linked up with Schalke in 2010. 

Across a short two-season stint, the Spaniard showed off all his predatory skills, netting 40 times across just 98 appearances, picking up two trophies in the process.

So profound was his impact, Schalke even temporarily retired the No.7 shirt in his honour. 

Barcelona allowed Dani Alves to leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2016 even though he still had a year to run on his contract with the Catalan club. It looked like an act of folly, and so it proved.

Even at 33, the Brazilian was still the best right-back in the world and as Barca failed dismally to find a replacement – they're still searching for a worthy successor – Alves added to his ridiculous trophy haul by helping Juve record a domestic double in his one and only season in Turin.

Remarkably, Juve didn't learn from Barca's mistake, allowing Alves to depart just 12 months into his two-year deal and ceding to the player's wish to be reunited with former Blaugrana boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

However, Alves performed a dramatic about-turn and instead joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he won more silverware before returning to his native Brazil to link up with Sao Paulo, where he still going strong at 36 years of age.

Andre-Pierre Gignac took many people within the game by surprise when he ignored offers from several clubs in Europe to move to Mexico in 2015.

However, it's fair to say the shock switch has worked out wonderfully well for the French forward, who hasn't stopped scoring since joining Tigers UANL.

Indeed, Gignac has become the club's all-time record scorer and won four Liga MX titles in the process!

Miranda was one of the main reasons why Atletico Madrid became one of the toughest teams to beat in Europe under Diego Simeone.

The Brazilian arrived on a free transfer from Sao Paulo in 2011 and went on to form arguably the most formidable central defensive partnership in club football with Diego Godin, which provided the foundation for the Rojiblancos' remarkable Liga triumph in 2014.

Of course, the extra-time loss to city rivals Real in the Champions League final will forever haunt that fantastic side but Atleti did get one over on Los Blancos the year before, when Miranda memorably netted the winner in their Copa del Rey final clash at the Santiago Bernabeu of all places.

After struggling to break through at Manchester United, Paul Pogba secured a controversial exit to Juventus in 2012 with the Red Devils left red faced. 

Across the next four seasons, the Frenchman starred in Serie A as Juventus won the domestic title in each campaign and Pogba himself picked up the Golden Boy award in 2013. 

Desperate to rectify their mistake, United would pay a mouth-watering €105m (£89m) to secure Pogba's return to Old Trafford in 2016.

"When Andrea told me that he was joining us, the first thing I thought was: 'God exists'. A player of his level and ability, not to mention that he was free, I think it was the signing of the century!"

That's how Gianlugi Buffon summed up Andrea Pirlo's free transfer from AC Milan to Juventus in 2011. 

After 10 seasons with Milan, the then-32-year-old was allowed to move to Juve and the club happily reaped the rewards of the veteran midfielder. 

Despite his advancing age, Pirlo proved class is indeed permanent as he steered the club to four successive Serie A titles.

What's worse than losing your star playing to your rivals? Losing him for nothing. 

And that's precisely what happened to Borussia Dortmund in 2013 when Robert Lewandowski signed a pre-contractual agreement with Bayern Munich. 

Having already scored freely at Dortmund, the Polish striker's goal hauls have only increased in Bavaria, where he's won the Bundesliga five times and the league's golden boot four times. 

Lewandowski's goals have been key in Bayern's domestic domination in recent years and the fact he cost nothing from their arch rivals makes the signing all the sweeter. 

James Milner's arrival from Manchester City on a free transfer may not be one of Liverpool's most eye-catching moves in recent years, but it's easily one of their best.

The versatile veteran has proven a steady hand for the Reds, chipping in wherever Jurgen Klopp has needed him, while at the same time providing plenty of assists.

Milner might lack the thrills and skills of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, the Englishman's contribution over the past five years can't be discounted – particularly when you consider he arrived for nothing and has proven such a lethal penalty-taker.