Santa Cruz scores at 40
Transfermarkt has updated the market values of Paraguay’s Primera División where the Apertura is about to reach its conclusion. The biggest winner of the update is the already most valuable player in the league: Julio Enciso from league leaders Club Libertad. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder has doubled his market value to now €11 million—a new record since the league has been introduced on Transfermarkt.
It is around the figure that Brighton & Hove Albion will pay for the Enciso—Libertad’s president Rubén di Tore confirmed as much to the media in Paraguay. The deal was supposed to be concluded last winter but failed at the last moment. Instead, Enciso renewed his contract and was the dominant player in Paraguay until suffering a facial injury. The forward scored 11 goals and three assists in 14 games—among them a direct corner and several freekicks.
Enciso was not the only talented player with an upgrade. Alexis Duarte from Clausura champions Cerro Porteño increased his value by €500,000 to €4 million after he was one of the strongest defenders of the Copa Libertadores group stage. The 22-year-old has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer and Mexico.
Paraguay’s biggest icons, 40-year-old Roque Santa Cruz and 39-year-old Óscar Cardozo are unchanged at €250,000 and €200,000. The two now play for the same team even if Santa Cruz took a far bigger role as Cardozo struggled with injuries. Santa Cruz scored seven goals in the Apertura and one in the Copa Libertadores. His contract expires at the end of the year.
How Transfermarkt market values work
The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees.
The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).
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