From €27m to €70m
“I want to lead my team to a Champions League place,” Florian Wirtz said ahead of the season in an interview with Sky. After finishing sixth in the Bundesliga last season, Bayer Leverkusen want to end their two-year run without UCL football. While the best and most valuable players play in the competition every year, the 18-year-old is among the players with the highest market value to have never played in the most important club competition in the world.
The only players with a higher market value than Wirtz, who ranks second with a market value of €65 million, are Mikel Oyarzabal from Real Sociedad and Declan Rice from West Ham United—the two share first place with a market value of €70 million. Since his breakthrough in 2019, Rice has been linked with several top clubs in the Premier League, but West Ham United’s transfer demands have torpedoed any potential move. Hammers’ manager David Moyes wanted £100 million (€118m) for the defender in the last window and has since pointed out that the London-based club could ask for even more.
Rice & Saka in the top 5: The most valuable player without a Champions League game
37 Xaver Schlager (VfL Wolfsburg) – Market value: €27m
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37 Ismaila Sarr (FC Watford) – Market value: €27m
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35 Evan N’Dicka (Frankfurt) – Market value: €28M
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35 Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal) – Market value: €28m
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29 Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle) – Market value: €30m
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29 Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) – Market value: €30m
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29 Gianluca Mancini (Roma) – Market value: €30m
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29 Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) – Market value: €30m
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29 John McGinn (Aston Villa) – Market value: €30m
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29 Bryan Gil (Tottenham) – Market value: €30m
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25 Raphinha (Leeds United) – Market value: €32m
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25 Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) – Market value: €32m
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25 Ivan Toney (Brentford) – Market value: €32m
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25 James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) – Market value: €32m
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16 Jordan Veretout (Roma) – Market value: €35m
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16 Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton) – Market value: €35m
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16 Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) – Market value: €35m
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16 Lucas Paqueta (Lyon) – Market value: €35m
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16 Aurélien Tchouameni (Monaco) – Market value: €35m
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16 Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal) – Market value: €35m
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16 Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa) – Market value: €35m
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16 Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo) – Market value: €35m
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16 Andrea Belotti (Torino) – Market value: €35m
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11 Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer Leverkusen) – Market value: €40m
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11 Wesley Fofana (Leicester) – Market value: €40m
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11 Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) – Market value: €40m
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11 Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) – Market value: €40m
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11 Ben White (Arsenal) – Market value: €40m
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8 Caglar Söyüncü (Leicester) – Market value: €45m
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8 Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) – Market value: €45m
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8 Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) – Market value: €45m
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6 Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina) – Market value: €50m
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6 James Maddison (Leicester) – Market value: €50m
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5 Richarlison (Everton) – Market value: €55m
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3 Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen) – Market value: €65m
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3 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – Market value: €65m
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1 Declan Rice (West Ham) – Market value: €70m
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1 Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) – Market value: €70m
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Wirtz, who is under contract until 2026, is in a similar transfer category. But according to Bayer Leverkusen, director of sport Rudi Völler, a transfer will not be possible until the summer of 2023. “Definitely,” Völler recently said when asked whether Wirtz will wear the Leverkusen shirt next season.
The wait for the UCL: Zaha at Palace – Saka & Vlahovic other examples
While Wirtz and other young stars like Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina), and Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) are still at the beginning of their career and will have plenty of opportunities to play in the Champions League, Wilfried Zaha has already missed a few chances to play in the world’s premier club competition. The Ivorian will celebrate his 29th birthday this week and has never played in the UCL or Europa League.
Crystal Palace are currently 13th in England and unlikely to ever qualify for the Champions League. Zaha’s market value of €45 million makes him the most valuable player in the Palace’s squad and is under contract until 2023. This summer was the third year in a row he tried to leave the Eagles. But like it was the case for Price, his club wanted €100 million to agree to a transfer.
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