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#3 Lautaro Martinez - €80 million (Argentina/Inter Milan)
Lautaro Martinez is coming off a brilliant season with Inter Milan. His striking partnership with Romelu Lukaku was central to the Nerazzurri's triumphant Serie A campaign. The 23-year-old scored 19 goals and provided 11 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions for Inter Milan in the 2020-21 season.
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He has also become the first-choice striker for Argentina in recent times after displacing Sergio Aguero. Several European giants have registered an interest in the young striker, who is contracted to Inter Milan until 2023.
Martinez is one of the best talents to have emerged from Argentina in recent years. He is growing in status as a pacy and prolific goalscorer. His excellent technical ability also enables him to link up with his fellow attackers to great effect. Martinez is definitely one of the players to keep an eye out for at Copa America 2021.
#2 Lionel Messi - €80 million (Argentina/Barcelona)
One of the greatest footballers of all time, Lionel Messi, is now 33-years-old. But age is just a number and he has proved that to us over the course of the 2020-21 season. Messi finished the La Liga campaign as its leading goalscorer with 30 goals in 35 appearances.
Yet to win a major trophy with La Albiceleste, he will undoubtedly give it his all at Copa America 2021. Lionel Scaloni's men will also depend on the Barcelona man's creativity to go all the way at a tournament in which they've found very little joy over the past three decades.
Messi is reportedly set to extend his contract at Barcelona. If that's the case, he is likely to spend the rest of his playing career at the only club he has played for. It's just one of the many things that make Lionel Messi special in modern day football.
#1 Neymar Jr. - €100 million (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain)
Critics say that Neymar Jr. is wasting his years at the top playing for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 and that he should cop a move to a more competitive league. But the truth remains that Neymar has played a big role in transforming Paris Saint-Germain into a European powerhouse.
The Brazilian scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists for Paris Saint-Germain in 31 appearances across all competitions this past season. He was rewarded with a new contract and is now tied to the club until 2025.
He is inarguably one of the best attackers in the world right now. Watching an in-form Neymar play is an absolute joy. He is one of the best dribblers on the planet and has unreal technical ability. The 29-year-old is the most valuable player at Copa America 2021.
