Complete update
Halfway through the season, Transfermarkt has updated the market values of the Japanese J1 League. Current champions and league leaders Kawasaki Frontale remain at the very top of the squad value standings with an overall market value of €23.35 million. Nine players in their squad receive an upgrade.
One of the players is Ao Tanaka, the 22-year-old who joins Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan with an option to buy. The Japanese U23 national team player is Kawasaki’s third-best scorer with five goals in 21 games and sees his market value grow by €200,000 to €1.7 million. The talented Reo Hatate also sees his market value grow. The 23-year-old left-back jumped by €200,000 to €800,000.
The most valuable player in the league is striker Lincoln from Vissel Kobe. The 20-year-old joined the club in January but because of work permit issues resulting from the COVID pandemic was not able to join the action until later in the season. The striker drops by €400,000 to €3.1 million after scoring just one goal in five games.
With Iniesta & Lincoln: The most valuable J-League Players (June 2021)
Update J1 League: Iniesta still among the most valuable
Teammate Andrés Iniesta also dropped. The main reasons are his advanced age and a prolonged time out injured with an upper thigh issue. The former Spanish world champion, who was signed from Barcelona in 2018 dropped by €200,000 to now €2.3 million—but he remains among the top three most valuable players.
Closing in on the top three of Lincoln, John Mary and Iniesta is Kyogo Furuhashi. Furuhashi saw his market value grow by €200,000 to now €2 million. The Kobe striker leads the J1 League with 13 goals.
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).
