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With the evolution of the game in recent times, full-backs have assumed greater significance. They often join the attack and pepper crosses to the opposition box, and also track back with urgency when possession is lost. Attack-minded right-backs and left-backs lend a different dimension to a team's attack and are in great demand.
Many successful teams over the years have featured quality right-backs who have contributed immensely on both sides of the pitch. The likes of Dani Alves for Barcelona and Lukasz Piszczek for Borussia Dortmund have made a name for themselves thanks to their work-rate and prowess in both departments.
5 most valuable right-backs at the moment
While Alves no longer plies his trade at Barcelona and Piszczek is in the twilight of his decade-long stint at Dortmund, there are a bevy of top right-backs who have hogged the limelight in recent years.
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On that note, let us have a look at the five most valuable right-backs in the game at the moment.
#5 Kyle Walker (Manchester City) - €40 million
Despite his frailties in recent times, Kyle Walker remains one of the top right-backs in the world.
The 30-year-old, who plies his trade at Manchester City, does not have as many goal contributions as the other players in this list. Nevertheless, Walker remains one of the key men in Pep Guardiola's setup at the Etihad because of his experience and big-game pedigree.
Since making his debut with Northampton Town in 2008, Walker has scored ten goals and provided 45 assists in over 400 games for various clubs in all competitions.
#4 Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) - €40 million
Daniel Carvajal has been a key player for Real Madrid for the better part of the 2010s decade since his club debut in 2013-14.
The 28-year-old has excelled under a number of managers at the Spanish giants, winning 16 trophies at the club, which includes two La Liga and four Champions League titles.
Carvajal, who plied his trade for a season at Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen before arriving in the Spanish capital, is widely considered to be one of the best right-backs in the game today.
Renowned for his pace, work-rate and ability to find key passes, Carvajal has scored six goals and produced 48 assists in almost 300 games in all competitions for Real Madrid.
#3 Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United) - €40 million
Right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been one of the few bright sparks in a largely mediocre Manchester United team.
After making his name at Crystal Palace, United snapped up the then 22-year-old last summer. Though he did not score any goals in his debut season at the club, Wan-Bissaka provided four assists in 35 Premier League games as Manchester United finished a creditable third in the league after an indifferent start to the season.
Wan-Bissaka, who is one of the few first-choice players of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scored his first goal for the club this season when he netted in a 4-1 away win at Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Renowned for his pace and tackling prowess, Wan-Bissaka, who started out as a winger, has earned lavish praise from his manager, who recently said this about the player:
“When you play at Man United as a full-back, you do have to provide assists. That's just part and parcel of being here, so he's getting more and more of them. We always knew that he was going to be hard to beat. He's one of the best one v one defenders I've ever seen, but he used to be a winger when he was younger, so he's got it in him.”
#2 Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich) - €45 million
Benjamin Pavard may have shot to fame for the scorcher he scored against Argentina in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but in the defender's own words, he is much more than that:
"I didn't sign for Bayern just because of that one shot. It's because I'm one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga. Defensively, I'm strong – and technically also. You don't say no to Bayern – they are the best club in Germany, and they're always winning lots of titles."
The 24-year-old French right-back has indeed walked the talk since his arrival at Bavaria a year after Les Bleus' victorious campaign in Russia.
The versatile Frenchman, who can also play as a centre-back, has been hailed as one of Bayern Munich's best-ever signings by club great Uli Hoeness. Pavard has already made over 50 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring four times and assisting on eight occasions.
#1 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - €110 million
Trent Alexander-Arnold is arguably the finest right-back in world football at the moment. Incredibly, he is more valuable than Lionel Messi (€100 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo (€60 million) at the moment.
Together with Andrew Robertson on the other flank, the duo forms a devastating full-back partnership that peppers crosses into the opposition box and has been key to Liverpool winning the Champions League and Premier League in successive seasons.
Last season, Alexander-Arnold played all 38 games in Liverpool's victorious Premier League campaign and produced 13 assists, which was the best by any full-back in Europe's top-5 leagues in 2019-20.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised the 22-year-old player on the cusp of his 100th appearance for the club, saying:
“Of course, when you look at his age, there is a lot of space for improvement, just time-wise already, and he will use that. He will become even a better person - maybe that’s difficult, but more a personality and all these kind of things."
