The CIES Football Observatory have released a list of the most valuable players in the transfer market today and how much they are currently worth. On top of the list is none other than Barcelona forward Lionel Messi who is worth a whopping £183m today.
Surprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo, a Ballon d’Or finalist almost every year since 2007 (except 2011) and three-time winner of the award is only the fourth most valuable player. Even Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is above the Portuguese star.
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How the transfer value is calculated
The values are calculated based on a variety of aspects. Firstly, the player’s age, the end of his contract (month and year) and position are entered in the Player Transfer Value Calculator. Then, his performances for the club over the past two years, spread across four stages, are considered.
It takes into account the number of league matches played, goals scored in the league, the country and level of competition in that league and the points the club won during the respective period of evaluation.
Finally, the performances for the national team in the past one year are also counted.
Young players with longer contracts worth more
Using this algorithm, Barcelona star Neymar is the second most valuable player. Considering he is only 23 years old, he is the only other player valued at over £100m. The Brazil captain’s current worth is £111.5m.
Eden Hazard is the third-most valuable player at over £95m. The fact that he was the Premier League’s best player last season and a contract extension till 2020, coupled with Belgium becoming no.1 in the FIFA rankings, may have played a part in Hazard being more valuable than Ronaldo. The Real Madrid star’s contract also runs out two years earlier than the Belgian forward, who is also six years younger than Ronaldo.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling are valued at more than £60m. Sterling was signed by City for £49m while Kane established himself as the Premier League’s highest goalscorer in 2015. Both players are 22 and have contracts at their respective clubs till 2020.
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez falls behind Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann with Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez completing the top 10. Other youngsters who make the list are Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Manchester City’s record signing Kevin De Bruyne. Philippe Coutinho, Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski and Gareth Bale are the other players who cost more than £50m in today’s market.
| # | PLAYER | CLUB | CONTRACT EXPIRY | AGE | VALUE (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2018 | 28 | 183 |
| 2 | Neymar | Barcelona | 2018 | 23 | 111.5 |
| 3 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 2020 | 24 | 95.3 |
| 4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 2018 | 30 | 83.2 |
| 5 | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | 2020 | 22 | 66.6 |
| 6 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City | 2020 | 21 | 65.6 |
| 7 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 2020 | 24 | 64.5 |
| 8 | Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 2019 | 28 | 63 |
| 9 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | 2019 | 27 | 59.9 |
| 10 | Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal | 2018 | 27 | 59.8 |
| 11 | Anthony Martial | Manchester United | 2020 | 20 | 56.8 |
| 12 | Paul Pogba | Juventus | 2019 | 22 | 56.4 |
| 13 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | 2021 | 24 | 53.3 |
| Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | 2020 | 23 | 53.3 | |
| 15 | Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich | 2021 | 26 | 52 |
| 16 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 2019 | 27 | 50.9 |
| 17 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 2019 | 26 | 50.6 |
Note: All transfer values have been converted from Euros to Pounds and an approximate value has been considered
