Willian Borges Da Silva

Manchester United, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are among the major European outfits who are due to farewell high-profile players when free agency comes into force on June 30.

Domestic leagues across the world appear increasingly likely to run beyond that deadline, meaning sides up and down the divisions could be forced to renegotiate deals beyond the typical expiry date.

It remains to be seen how governing bodies will approach the unfamiliar territory but Edinson Cavani, Mario Gotze and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be watching closely like dozens more across Europe's top five leagues.

These are the stars and solid supporting cast members whose contract situations are worth monitoring in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

LaLiga

Athletic Bilbao: Aritz Aduriz (retiring), Benat, Mikel San Jose
Atletico Madrid: Antonio Adan
Espanyol: Ander Iturraspe
Granada: Roberto Soldado
Real Valladolid: Hatem Ben Arfa
Sevilla: Ever Banega (joining Al Shabab at end of contract), Nolito
Valencia: Ezequiel Garay
Villarreal: Santi Cazorla 

Premier League

Bournemouth: Ryan Fraser
Burnley: Joe Hart
Chelsea: Olivier Giroud, Pedro, Willian
Liverpool: Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne
Manchester City: David Silva (confirmed he will leave at end of contract)
Manchester United: Nemanja Matic, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Odion Ighalo (loan ends)
Newcastle United: Matty Longstaff
Tottenham: Jan Vertonghen, Japhet Tanganga

Serie A

Atalanta: Jose Luis Palomino
Hellas Verona: Fabio Borini
Inter: Ashley Young
Juventus: Gianluigi Buffon
Milan: Lucas Biglia, Giacomo Bonaventura, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Napoli: Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens

Bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen: Charles Aranguiz
Borussia Dortmund: Mario Gotze, Lukasz Piszczek
Hertha Berlin: Salomon Kalou
Schalke: Benjamin Stambouli
Wolfsburg: Robin Knoche

Ligue 1

Lille: Loic Remy
Monaco: Jemerson
Nice: Walter Benitez, Arnaud Lusamba
Paris Saint-Germain: Edinson Cavani, Thomas Meunier, Tanguy Kouassi, Layvin Kurzawa, Thiago Silva

The Premier League is suspended until April 3, but it remains uncertain just when the competition will get underway or whether it will be completed.

Willian is out of contract at the end of June, making his future unclear if the season continues beyond that.

But the Brazil international, who had no news on a possible new deal, said he was prepared to play beyond that if required.

"My contract really ends, I think in July," he told Esporte Interativo during a live Facebook chat on Wednesday.

"And if I had to play on those dates, in these months, I think it would be no problem for me to end the league in a way which would be loyal to the club, as they always were with me. Regardless of a signed paper.

"But it's clear that this is not a certainty, we don't know what can happen.

"But without a doubt, as always, I will always be ready to give the best to my club regardless of my contract situation."

Willian has scored seven goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season.

According to reports, LaLiga giants Barcelona are eager to take winger Willian to Camp Nou before the January transfer window closes on Friday.

The experienced Brazilian has been with Chelsea since 2013, but his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

TOP STORY - BARCA WANT WILLIAN

Barcelona will test Chelsea's resolve with a late €23.6million (£20m) offer for Willian, Sky Sports have reported.

The Blaugrana are said to be are "long-term admirers" of the 31-year-old and hope to have him on board for the remainder of their title battle against Real Madrid.

Willian could leave Stamford Bridge on a free at the end of June if Chelsea choose not to cash in now.

Frank Lampard last month said contract talks were ongoing with the former Shakhtar Donetsk attacker, but he has not yet agreed a new deal.

ROUND-UP

- News of Barca's approach comes amid suggestions they have had an eye-watering €100m (£85m) offer for Richarlison rejected by Everton, rumours the Mirror indicates have been laughed off at Goodison Park.

- Chelsea, however, could be preparing their Willian replacement. According to the Daily Mail, the Premier League top-four aspirants are looking to sign 32-year-old Napoli forward Dries Mertens for a cut-price £6m fee.

- Barca, meanwhile, are trying to find a new home for Philippe Coutinho after learning Bayern Munich will not activate their €120m option to buy the on-loan playmaker, say Catalunya Radio.

- England international Danny Rose will spend the remainder of the season at Newcastle United after Tottenham accepted a £2m loan fee for the left-back, claim the Guardian.

- Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund must improve their bid from €22m to €30m to convince Serie A champions Juventus to part with midfielder Emre Can, claim CalcioMercato.

Werner, 24, was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool from RB Leipzig, but the coronavirus pandemic may have changed that.

Meanwhile, Dybala's future is set to be clear shortly.

TOP STORY – LIVERPOOL PUT WERNER PLANS ON HOLD

Liverpoolhave put their plans to sign Werner on hold and also stopped contract talks due to coronavirus, according to The Daily Mail.

There is uncertainty over the financial statuses of sporting clubs around the world due to coronavirus and Liverpool are waiting until there is greater clarity.

Star midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and defender Dejan Lovren are among the Liverpool players out of contract in 2021.

One club seemingly not prepared to wait are Juventus, with CalcioMercato reporting Dybala is getting closer to a contract extension with the Serie A giants.

ROUND-UP

- Luka Modric is going nowhere. AS claims the midfielder will see out his contract, which runs until 2021, at Real Madrid. Just what Madrid's midfield looks like next season remains to be seen. Sport says Madrid will let James Rodriguez leave and bring Martin Odegaard back from his loan spell at Real Sociedad. It also reports Takefusa Kubo will be used as part of a deal to bring back Odegaard.

- Talk about a deal that would see Neymar return to Barcelona and Antoine Griezmann join Paris Saint-Germain remains alive. According to Sport, PSG would welcome Griezmann while they attempt to re-sign Kylian Mbappe to unite the France team-mates at club level.

- One player unlikely to be at PSG is Edinson Cavani. Tuttosport reports Napoliare thinking about bringing the forward, who is out of contract at the end of the season, back to the Stadio San Paolo.

- Marc-Andre ter Stegen's future remains unclear. Sport claims Barcelona and the goalkeeper are no closer to renewing a contract that will expire in 2022.

- Henrikh Mkhitaryan is seemingly happy on loan at Roma, but whether he stays remains to be seen. The Daily Express says Arsenal have rejected two bids – the last one around €11.4million (£10m) – from the Serie A club, who may instead turn to Chelsea's Pedro.

- As they plan a move for Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, Chelsea have told Willian he has no chance of getting a three-year deal, according to the Mirror. Willian is out of contract at the end of the season.

The Fulham attacker was a two-time Premier League winner during his time with Chelsea, and collected medals in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League.

In addition, the 34-year-old won the 2019 Copa America with Brazil and was a member of his nation's squad when they came fourth at home in the 2014 World Cup.

But when asked what defines success in football, he suggested that trophies do not solely define the legacy of a player's career.

"I think it's a mix of several factors," he told Stats Perform. "It is to win titles, [it] is to be playing at a high level.

"Sometimes there are players who don't win titles, but play at a high level and are always playing well, always scoring goals. Harry Kane, for example, for me, is a great player

"[He] is always at a high level at Tottenham, playing very well and scoring goals, but I don't think he has any career titles as a professional. Can you say that he was not successful in football?

"It depends. It is a mixture of things. It depends a lot on what it means to be successful in football. For me, the most important thing is for the player to be playing well, and the title becomes a consequence of the work."

Despite his success, Willian acknowledged there are two major honours that have eluded him, at club and international level, but he adds their absence from his collection does not detract from his other successes.

"One is the Champions League and the other is the World Cup," he noted. "Every player has that dream.

"Those are the two titles I'd really like to win, but if I don't win them, I'm satisfied with my career and the titles I've already won."

Willian has spent nine seasons in the Premier League, more than he has in any domestic top-flight competition, and he maintains it remains the strongest he has played in.

"The Premier League is the best league in the world," he added. "You'll never have an easy match.

"It might get easier during the game, and you might beat the other team, but you're never going to go into the match thinking it's going to be easy, thinking you're going to win 4-0.

"It is a very difficult league. The last one can take points from the first one, and it is very competitive and that is why it becomes the best in the world."

Vinicius was the victim of racist abuse from some Valencia supporters during Madrid's 1-0 defeat at Mestalla Stadium on Sunday.

The Brazil international was subsequently sent off – a red card that has since been rescinded – while LaLiga president Javier Tebas caused upset with his reaction to the incident.

Tebas responded to a tweet by Vinicius, writing: "Before you criticise and insult LaLiga, you need to inform yourself well, Vini Jr. Don't let yourself be manipulated."

LaLiga's chief has now apologised for his comments, though Willian believes his fellow Brazilian Vinicius would be within his rights to consider whether his future remains in Spain.

"This is a tough question," Fulham playmaker Willian said in an exclusive interview with Stats Perform. 

"Only he can answer what he is feeling. I see him going through this and I get a feeling that is a mixture of anger and sadness, all at the same time, for seeing this situation.

"It's up to each one of us. If he sees that it's worth it to keep being there, if he has all the support from the club, from the Spanish federation, it's worth persisting. But if you see that people don't care about the situation, it might be worth going to another place where you are celebrated, not tolerated.

"I always say this: you have to be where you are celebrated and not tolerated. That is what I believe.

"But Vini is making beautiful history at Real Madrid and has everything to continue making history there. I hope this situation is resolved and the people who do this are punished each time."

Madrid reported the incident to the Spanish prosecutor's office as a hate crime, and three arrests have subsequently been made.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has ordered a partial closure of Valencia's stadium for five matches, and Willian hopes that punishment will be a turning point in the battle against racism.

He added: "I hope so. I hope this can be ahead of money, ahead of trophies, an issue like this, a situation like this is far more important than anything else. I hope the authorities, the federations, can take real action from now on.

"We are in 2023 and we see this happening. It's depressing. It's exhausting. You enter the pitch to play football, to give joy to the fans, and you end up being insulted, and that is very sad. I hope this can end, end once and for all in football, in everyday life, wherever.

"People need to know that we are all equal, there is no difference because of race or colour."

Vinicius did not play for Madrid against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, watching on from the stands as his compatriot Rodrygo scored a late winner.

The Madrid fans showed their support for the 22-year-old with banners and a minute's applause.

Willian, who was the recipient of threats during his spell with Corinthians last year, believes the English Football Association (FA) set a good example for other federations to follow when it comes to tackling racism, but more must be done.

"There is [racism] everywhere," he said. "Here in England, it might happen, but I have never seen, I have never witnessed a situation like the one that has been happening with Vini in Spain.

"In Italy, it happens sometimes too. Here in England, it is more difficult because I think the FA is very strict about these things. I am sure that if this happens here, they will ban the fan immediately, the federation can punish the club, and they can leave them without fans, but it is a complicated situation.

"I've said it many times: while the authorities don't do what has to be done, it's no use. We players do what we can, which is to expose, post on social media, and talk about it in interviews. But we can't punish.

"We players have to simply get on the pitch and keep playing, keep going to training. Those who can punish often don't do what has to be done. We need to have a real rigorous punishment and not just keep running campaigns like 'no to racism' or something like that and that's it.

"I hope that more and more fans can be punished or that whoever does this will be punished."