13 top Bundesliga stars who will be out of contract in 2025 as Bayern Munich face exodus
Top Bundesliga free agents in 2025
A number of high-profile talents from Germany’s Bundesliga are set to be available for free at the end of the current campaign and TT has taken a look at 13 stars who will be up for grabs.
The biggest Bundesliga headline of the summer of 2023 was unquestionably Harry Kane’s €110million move to Bayern Munich.
This summer was characterised as much by the deals that didn’t happen, with champions Bayer Leverkusen managing to retain all the core players who led them to a first-ever top-flight title without suffering a single defeat.
And already the summer of 2025 is shaping up to be one dominated by free-agency moves. A host of top talents from Germany’s top flight are set to be available for free at the end of the current campaign, with Bayern in particular facing an exodus.
Here are 13 Bundesliga stars in the final year of their contracts…
Alphonso Davies
Perhaps the most talked-about contract rebel in German football this year is Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies.
The 23-year-old Canadian has won five Bundesliga titles and a Champions League since joining the Bavarian giants from the Vancouver Whitecaps as a teenager in 2019.
Arguably the best in the world in his position, Davies looks set for an exit from the Allianz Arena, with a move to Real Madrid expected.
Leroy Sane
Linked with a move to Arsenal over the summer, former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane is another Bayern star on a dwindling deal this season.
The rapid 28-year-old attacker, who has scored 45 goals in 175 games for Bayern, has professed a willingness to stay with the club, but contract talks have stalled as reports claim the 33-time Bundesliga champions expected Sane to take a pay cut.
Bayern were said to have resolved to sell the player over the summer, but no move materialised. There will almost certainly be clubs interested in taking the 65-cap Germany international back to the Premier League next summer.
DIVE DEEPER – The five best free agents in each position available after the 2024 summer transfer window
Joshua Kimmich
Linked with several Premier League clubs as well as a Barcelona reunion with former Bayern and Germany coach Hansi Flick, it was something of a surprise when the transfer window closed and Joshua Kimmich was still in Bavaria.
That might not be the case for long, though. With so many top clubs around the continent in need of a top-class No.6, the versatile eight-time Bundesliga winner – who will still only be 30 years old next summer – will have no shortage of offers.
Manuel Neuer
At 38 years old, legendary goalkeeper Manuel Neuer recently announced his retirement from international football.
But Neuer, an all-time great in his position and the undisputed No.1 at the Allianz arena since 2011, has no intention of moving on from Bayern at the end of the current season, despite being in the final year of his contract.
“I don’t plan to retire or leave Bayern at the end of the season,” he told Kicker in August. “I don’t start the season thinking it will all be over in June… we’ll see.”
Thomas Muller
Of all the Bayern players set for free agency next summer, Thomas Muller is the one it is most difficult to imagine wearing another team’s colours.
The Bayern academy graduate has played 710 games for the club, scoring 245 goals and winning 12 Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues.
Muller will be 35 by the time his current deal expires, but the versatile attacking midfielder hasn’t rules out signing a new contract at the Allianz Arena.
Jonathan Tah
The captain of Bayer Leverkusen’s undefeated domestic double last season, Jonathan Tah was a top target for rivals Bayern this summer and for most of the transfer window appeared destined for Bavaria.
But no such move materialised for the towering 28-year-old centre-back, despite personal terms having reportedly been agreed between the player and Bayern. Instead, Tah will anchor Leverkusen’s title defence this term before a likely switch to the Allianz Arena on a free in 2025.
Jacob Bruun Larsen
Danish winger Jacob Bruun Larsen is back with Hoffenheim after spending last season on loan with Burnley, but the 25-year-old doesn’t seem to figure highly in the Bundesliga club’s plans.
The former Borussia Dortmund man has featured in just 38 minutes of top-flight action in Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side so far in the new season. And with his contract at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena winding down, his future appears to rest elsewhere.
Roland Sallai
Freiburg midfielder Roland Sallai reportedly rejected a £12 million move to Leeds United in the final days of the 2024 summer transfer window, electing instead to remain with the Bundesliga club into the last year of his contract.
The 27-year-old Hungarian – who can play anywhere across midfield – has racked up 163 appearances for the Breisgau-Brasilianer since joining the club in 2019 and stood out in the Europa League last term, with four goals and an assist in eight games.
DON’T MISS – The ultimate summer 2024 transfer window quiz: Can you get 25/25?
Alassane Plea
According to German newspaper Bild, Borussia Monchengladbach were looking to offload Alassane Plea this summer, rather than face losing him for free in a year’s time.
But Plea – who signed for Gladbach from Nice in a €25 million deal back in 2018 – is still with the club and has started both games to begin the new campaign for Gerardo Seoane’s side. Able to play as a winger or a striker, the 31-year-old one-cap France international has scored 57 goals in 207 games for Die Fohlen.
Lennard Maloney
Former Dortmund man Lennard Maloney has been one of the stars of Heidenheim’s unlikely rise over the last two years, helping the minnows from Baden-Württemberg earn promotion from the second tier in 2022-23 before a remarkable eighth-place Bundesliga finish last term.
The Berlin-born 24-year-old’s Heidenheim heroics were recognised with his first two international caps for the United States. Out of contract next summer, Frank Schmidt’s side face a battle to hang on to their key defensive midfielder.
Danilho Doekhi
Former Netherlands under-21 centre-back Danilho Doekhi has impressed in the Bundesliga since joining Union Berlin from Vitesse in 2022, standing out for his physicality at 6ft 3 and ability to crop up with goals having found the net eight times over the last two campaigns.
Now in the final year of his deal in the German capital, the 26-year-old nephew of former Chelsea defender Winston Bogarde attracted interest from Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, PSV and an unnamed Serie A club this summer.
Eric Dier
England international defender Eric Dier was a surprise signing for Bayern in the January transfer window last season, but the experienced 30-year-old impressed at the Allianz Arena, starting 13 Bundesliga games over the back half of the campaign.
He initially joined the Bavarian side on loan from Tottenham and the switch was made permanent this summer. But Dier’s short-term Bayern contract will expire at the end of the current season and he finds himself behind Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-Jae and new signing Hiroki Ito in the pecking order.
Ruben Vargas
Named the player of the match in his nation’s last-16 victory over Italy, versatile attacking midfielder Ruben Vargas shone for Switzerland at the Euros this summer, leading to interest from Fiorentina.
The 26-year-old, who has previously been linked to Crystal Palace, remains an Augsburg player for now, having joined the club in 2019. But with his contract set to run out next summer, interest in the 47-cap Swiss attacker will again be high if he can improve on his four goals and four assists from last term.