Villarreal did not renew the contract with Thomas Partey, who will become a free agent
Villarreal decided not to renew Thomas Partey's contract, making the player a free agent amid legal trouble.
Villarreal Club has no intention of extending Thomas Partey's contract for another season, leaving the 33-year-old player without a club from the end of this month. Partey, currently at the World Cup with Ghana, signed a one-year contract with the Spanish side in the summer of 2025 after leaving Arsenal, with an option to extend for a further 12 months. However, the La Liga club have no plans to exercise the option in Partey's contract and he is set to become a free agent. Last season, Partey made 32 appearances for Villarreal, including five in the Champions League – including a return to London against Tottenham Hotspur in September. In the 2025-26 season, Villarreal finished third in La Liga, their highest finish in 13 years. Partey was charged in the UK with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2025. In September of the same year, he pleaded not guilty. He was charged with two new counts of rape in February this year, to which he pleaded not guilty in April. His trial at Southwark Crown Court is expected to take place in June 2027. Partey denies any wrongdoing and his lawyer, Jenny Wiltshire of Hickman and Rose, said in a statement that his client welcomed “the opportunity to finally clear his reputation”. Villarreal's decision to sign Partey has received criticism in Spain, the UK and elsewhere. The club's president, Fernando Roig, defended the decision, saying in August: "The player is in a legal process, he maintains his innocence and denies the charges. It is the responsibility of the British justice system to determine what happened. At the moment, Partey is as innocent as all of us here. Respecting the presumption of innocence is a fundamental value at Villarreal." Last week, The Athletic revealed that Partey was denied entry into Canada, meaning he will not be able to join his teammates in Toronto for Ghana's match against Panama on June 17. An appeal to overturn Partey's entry ban was rejected on Tuesday, meaning he will not take part in Ghana's 2026 World Cup opener.
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