FFP an obstacle
Sporting director Dan Ashworth was one of Newcastle United’s top transfers, and he has now admitted that the path to the top could be lengthy. Signed from Brighton & Hove Albion in February and officially in charge since May—Ashworth spent €136 million in his first transfer window. “This club has invested circa £200million in 2022 — that’s unsustainable,” Ashworth said (quoted by The Athletic). “You can’t keep doing that every year. No matter how rich your owners are, you are restrained by the fact that you have to work within FFP.”
The Transfermarkt database highlights that the Magpies have spent €237m for ten new players in 2022. Ashworth, in the meantime, has a reputation for working with what is available and making it better—his ambitions with Newcastle are significant. Still, he also knows that he will need time to complete his project. “Yes, it’s the sort of thing we’re looking at because we can’t continue to spend £200m in one year,” Ashworth said. “We have to find ways of getting talent through the building and investing in potential, nor performance. That’s a key difference.” After nine games and just one defeat, Newcastle are sixth in the Premier League standings.
With Newcastle United – Transfer spending in the summer of 2022
12 Arsenal – Spending: €132.1m
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Last updated: September 1, 2022
11 Newcastle – Spending: €136.0m
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10 Wolves – Spending: €136.6m
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9 Bayern Munich – Spending: €137.5m
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8 Manchester City – Spending: €139.5m
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7 PSG – Spending: €147.5m
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6 Barcelona – Spending: €153.0m
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5 Nottingham Forest – Spending: €162.0m
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4 Tottenham – Spending: €169.9m
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3 West Ham – Spending: €182.0m
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2 Manchester United – Spending: €238.0m
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1 Chelsea – Spending: €282.0m
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In the near future, the club will have to rely on hefty transfer fees to attract top talent; a difficult proposition given that the club will have to keep an eye on Financial Fairplay, especially as the club believes to be in Europe very soon, and, therefore, has to keep with UEFA regulations. “You have to trade, given financial fair play (FFP),” Ashworth said. “There’ll be times… I can’t lie to you and say we’ll never have to sell a player; that doesn’t happen anywhere. You have to sometimes make a pragmatic decision to go, ‘OK, we’ll do that because that’s a way of reinvesting’. But, as a rule of thumb, I would like to think we’ll be able to hold onto our top talent to drive our ambitions.” FFP calculates paid fees over the course of the contract, and the same is not true for fees received, which immediately count completely toward the earnings. That means clubs can move within FFP with some creativity.
Newcastle United’s Ashworth: Wants to be competitive in Europe.
Ashworth pointed out that the club has to be creative. And the limitations of the FFP have meant that other clubs like Man City and Paris Saint-Germain have been heavily criticized and sanctioned by the UEFA watchdogs.
[BoxRechts Titel= “All arrivals and departures” Text=” Newcastle’s transfers including transfer fees “LinkText=” Overview” Link=”/newcastle-united/alletransfers/verein/762″]Newcastle have been unable to lure the biggest names to St James’ Park one of the most visited football stadiums on the planet. Ashworth acknowledged that for his club to sign the best players, Newcastle have to be a regular fixture in European football.
The highest average attendances in the world in 2022/23
50 Sevilla – Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán – Average attendance: 37,086
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Capacity: 43,883
Last updated: October 7, 2022
49 RC Lens – Stade Bollaert-Delelis – Average attendance: 37,208
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Capacity: 38,223
48 1. FC Kaiserslautern – Fritz-Walter-Stadion – Average attendance: 37,418
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Capacity: 49,850
47 Corinthians – Neo Química Arena – Average attendance: 37,871
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Capacity: 49,205
46 Fenerbahce – Şükrü Saraçoğlu – Average attendance: 38,801
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Capacity: 47,834
45 Everton – Goodison Park – Average attendance: 39,266
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Capacity: 39,571
44 Chelsea – Stamford Bridge – Average attendance: 39,635
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Capacity: 40,853
43 SSC Napoli – Stadio Diego Armando Maradona – Average attendance: 39,753
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Capacity: 54,726
42 Lazio – Olimpico di Roma – Average attendance: 39,783
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Capacity: 73,261
41 Valencia – Mestalla – Average attendance: 40,740
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Capacity: 48,600
40 Werder Bremen – Wohninvest-Weserstadion – Average attendance: 41,275
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Capacity: 42,100
39 Aston Villa – Villa Park – Average attendance: 41,567
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Capacity: 42,682
38 Athletic Club – San Mamés – Average attendance: 42,050
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Capacity: 53,289
37 Feyenoord – De Kuip – Average attendance: 43,131
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Capacity: 47,500
36 FC Porto – Estádio do Dragão – Average attendance: 44,384
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Capacity: 50,399
35 RB Leipzig – Red Bull Arena – Average attendance: 44,397
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Capacity: 47,069
34 Galatasaray – NEF Stadyumu – Average attendance: 45,194
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Capacity: 52,223
33 Olympique Lyon – Groupama Stadium – Average attendance: 45,788
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Capacity: 59,186
32 EC Cruzeiro – Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto – Average attendance: 46,018
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Capacity: 61,927
31 PSG – Parc des Princes – Average attendance: 46,283
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Capacity: 49,691
30 Rangers FC – Ibrox Stadium – Average attendance: 46,842
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Capacity: 50,987
29 VfB Stuttgart – Mercedes-Benz Arena – Average attendance: 47,125
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Capacity: 60,449
28 Hertha BSC – Olympiastadion Berlin – Average attendance: 47,283
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Capacity: 74,649
27 Atlanta United – Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Average attendance: 47,353
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Capacity: 73,019
26 HSV – Volksparkstadion – Average attendance: 47,355
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Capacity: 57,000
25 1. FC Köln – RheinEnergieSTADION – Average attendance: 48,314
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Capacity: 50,000
24 Flamengo – Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho – Average attendance: 49,399
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Capacity: 78,838
23 Gladbach – Stadion im Borussia-Park – Average attendance: 49,867
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Capacity: 54,022
22 Eintracht Frankfurt – Deutsche Bank Park – Average attendance: 50,357
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Capacity: 51,500
21 Real Betis – Benito Villamarín – Average attendance: 50,764
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Capacity: 59,378
20 Newcastle United – St James’ Park – Average attendance: 52,151
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Capacity: 52,338
19 West Ham – London Stadium – Average attendance: 52,221
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Capacity: 60,000
18 Man City – Etihad Stadium – Average attendance: 52,609
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Capacity: 55,017
17 Ajax – Johan Cruijff ArenA – Average attendance: 52,698
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Capacity: 55,600
16 Liverpool – Anfield – Average attendance: 53,000
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Capacity: 54,074
15 Olympique Marseille – Orange Vélodrome – Average attendance: 53,929
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Capacity: 67,394
14 Benfica – Estádio da Luz – Average attendance: 55,397
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Capacity: 65,000
13 Real Madrid – Santiago Bernabéu – Average attendance: 55,821
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Capacity: 81,044
12 Atlético – Civitas Metropolitano – Average attendance: 56,985
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Capacity: 68,456
11 Celtic – Celtic Park – Average attendance: 58.340
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Capacity: 60,832
10 Arsenal – Emirates Stadium – Average attendance: 60,042
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Capacity: 60,704
9 Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Average attendance: 60,698
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Capacity: 62,062
8 AS Roma – Olimpico di Roma – Average attendance: 61,202
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Capacity: 73,261
7 Schalke 04 – Veltins-Arena – Average attendance: 61,728
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Capacity: 62,271
6 Inter Milan – San Siro – Average attendance: 69,467
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Capacity: 75,923
5 AC Milan – San Siro – Average attendance: 70,003
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Capacity: 75,923
4 Man United – Old Trafford – Average attendance: 74,583
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Capacity: 74,879
3 Bayern Munich – Allianz Arena – Average attendance: 75,004
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Capacity: 75,024
2 BVB – SIGNAL IDUNA PARK – Average attendance: 78,766
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Capacity: 81,365
1 FC Barcelona – Spotify Camp Nou – Average attendance: 81,890
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Capacity: 99,354
But it could be some time until Newcastle will be a regular in Europe, Ashworth acknowledged. Although Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal are role models for the club, the club with the wealthiest owner in the world will take its time to make a significant investment. “I hope we can be agile enough in the transfer market that we don’t go and spend £100m on a ready-made player,” Ashworth said. “We have to be creative. We must look at emerging talent, enhancing our academy, investing in potential, not performance.” His record transfer up to this point has been Alexander Isak, who was signed for €70m from Real Sociedad.
Nonetheless, Newcastle United’s transfer strategy cannot be sustainable for a simple reason. This season the club invested €237m while only earning €2.3m through player sales. As a result, the club may be forced to sell players at some point to make a step forward in the long term. That, however, is difficult as other clubs know that Newcastle have wealthy owners, which makes it difficult on the negotiation table for the club to sell at a high price or bring in players on a bargain deal.
The 100 most valuable footballers in the world
100 Lionel Messi – PSG – Market value: €50m
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99 Casemiro – Man United – Market value: €50
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98 Alisson – Liverpool – Market value: €50m
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97 Marco Verratti – PSG – Market value: €50m
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96 Kalvin Phillips – Man City – Market value: €50m
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95 Patrik Schick – Leverkusen – Market value: €50m
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94 Lucas Hernández – Bayern Munich – Market value: €50m
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93 Mikel Merino – Real Sociedad – Market value: €50m
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92 James Maddison – Leicester City – Market value: €50m
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91 Raphinha – Barcelona – Market value: €50m
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90 Wilfred Ndidi – Leicester City – Market value: €50m
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89 Pau Torres – Villarreal – Market value: €50m
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88 Arnaut Danjuma – Villarreal – Market value: €50m
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87 Richarlison – Tottenham – Market value: €50m
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86 Ousmane Dembélé – Barcelona – Market value: €50m
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85 Tammy Abraham – Roma – Market value: €50m
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84 Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan – Market value: €50m
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83 Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal – Market value: €50m
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82 Alexander Isak – Newcastle United – Market value: €50m
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81 Gianluigi Donnarumma – PSG – Market value: €50m
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80 Dejan Kulusevski – Tottenham – Market value: €50m
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79 Sandro Tonali – AC Milan – Market value: €50m
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78 Nuno Mendes – PSG – Market value: €50m
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77 Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool – Market value: €55m
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76 David Alaba – Real Madrid – Market value: €55m
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75 Theo Hernández – AC Milan – Market value: €55m
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74 Cristian Romero – Tottenham – Market value: €55m
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73 Marc Cucurella – Chelsea – Market value: €55m
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72 Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid – Market value: €55m
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71 Sadio Mané – Bayern Munich – Market value: €60m
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70 Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid – Market value: €60m
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69 Fabinho – Liverpool – Market value: €60m
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68 Sergej Milinković-Savić – Lazio – Market value: €60m
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67 Leroy Sané – Bayern Munich – Market value: €60m
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66 Kingsley Coman – Bayern Munich – Market value: €60m
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65 Diogo Jota – Liverpool – Market value: €60m
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64 Mikel Oyarzabal – Real Sociedad – Market value: €60m
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63 Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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62 Marcus Rashford – Man United – Market value: €60m
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61 Éder Militão – Real Madrid – Market value: €60m
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60 Jules Koundé – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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59 Ronald Araújo – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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58 Alessandro Bastoni – Inter – Market value: €60m
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57 Moussa Diaby – Leverkusen – Market value: €60m
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56 Reece James – Chelsea – Market value: €60m
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55 Josko Gvardiol – RB Leipzig – Market value: €60m
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54 Ansu Fati – Barcelona – Market value: €60m
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53 Andrew Robertson – Liverpool – Market value: €65m
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52 João Cancelo – Man City – Market value: €65m
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51 Leon Goretzka – Bayern Munich – Market value: €65m
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50 Milan Skriniar – Inter Milan – Market value: €65m
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49 Serge Gnabry – Bayern Munich – Market value: €65m
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48 Gabriel Jesus – Arsenal – Market value: €65m
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47 Federico Chiesa – Juventus – Market value: €65m
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46 Achraf Hakimi – PSG – Market value: €65m
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45 Victor Osimhen – Napoli – Market value: €65m
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44 Wesley Fofana – Chelsea – Market value: €65m
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43 Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan – Market value: €70m
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42 Marquinhos – PSG – Market value: €70m
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41 Raheem Sterling – Chelsea – Market value: €70m
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40 Jack Grealish – Man City – Market value: €70m
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39 Nicolò Barella – Inter Milan – Market value: €70m
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38 Rafael Leão – AC Milan – Market value: €70m
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37 Kai Havertz – Chelsea – Market value: €70m
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36 Darwin Núñez – Liverpool – Market value: €70m
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35 Matthijs de Ligt – Bayern Munich – Market value: €70m
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34 João Félix – Atlético Madrid – Market value: €70m
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33 Alphonso Davies – Bayern Munich– Market value: €70m
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32 Rodrygo – Real Madrid – Market value: €70m
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31 Bukayo Saka – Arsenal – Market value: €70m
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30 Florian Wirtz – Leverkusen – Market value: €70m
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29 Gavi – Barcelona – Market value: €70m
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28 Neymar – PSG – Market value: €75m
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27 Heung-Min Son – Tottenham – Market value: €75m
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26 Luis Díaz – Liverpool – Market value: €75m
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25 Rúben Dias – Man City – Market value: €75m
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24 Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan – Market value: €75m
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23 Mason Mount – Chelsea – Market value: €75m
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22 Antony – Man United – Market value: €75m
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21 Jadon Sancho – Man United – Market value: €75m
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20 Bernardo Silva – Man City – Market value: €80m
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19 Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich – Market value: €80m
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18 Rodri – Man City – Market value: €80m
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17 Christopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig – Market value: €80m
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16 Federico Valverde – Real Madrid – Market value: €80m
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15 Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool – Market value: €80m
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14 Declan Rice – West Ham – Market value: €80m
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13 Aurélien Tchouameni – Real Madrid – Market value: €80m
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12 Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich – Market value: €80m
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11 Kevin De Bruyne – Man City – Market value: €85m
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10 Bruno Fernandes – Man United – Market value: €85m
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9 Dušan Vlahović – Juventus – Market value: €85m
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8 Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – Market value: €90m
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7 Harry Kane – Tottenham – Market value: €90m
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6 Phil Foden – Man City – Market value: €90m
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5 Pedri – Barcelona – Market value: €90m
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4 Jude Bellingham – Dortmund – Market value: €90m
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3 Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid – Market value: €120m
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2 Erling Haaland – Man City – Market value: €150m
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1 Kylian Mbappé – PSG – Market value: €160m
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With all this in mind, building success at Newcastle will take some time. But Ashworth and the owners have acknowledged that they are in for the long haul when building something in Newcastle, which could mean it will also take some time until the world’s most valuable players end up playing at St James’ Park.
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