In April 2018 the most valuable XI in the world broke the €1 billion benchmark for the first time with a collective market value of €1.1 billion. Four years later the market value of the most expensive XI is still above one billion euros—but at €1.03 billion the benchmark was met at the finest of margins. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the transfer market—even if the very top clubs still tend to spend gigantic fees. Then there is the fact that there is a change of generation. As a result, the amount of players with a market value of €100 million or more has dropped to just three.
Mbappé, Bellingham & Foden: The 100 Most Valuable Footballers in the World
Mbappé, Bellingham & Foden: The 100 Most Valuable Footballers in the World
Following the recent market value updates in Europe’s major leagues, the ranking of the 100 most valuable footballers in the world has been reorganised. (As of 21 June 2022)
Also valued at €45m are: Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Tomas Soucek (West Ham), Marcos Llorente (Atlético), Ángel Correa (Atlético), Ederson (Man City), Aymeric Laporte (Man City), Jan Oblak (Atlético), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
At the very top remain Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé and new Manchester City star striker Erling Haaland, with a respective market value of €160 million and €150 million. Both players have signed high-profile contracts in Paris and Manchester respectively that further underline that they are the legitimate successors to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Whether they will manage to meet the records set by the Portuguese and Argentine is another question.
When Haaland leaves the Bundesliga on June 30, Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies will remain the only player playing in Germany to crack the XI of the most expensive players in the world. The selection is dominated by the Premier League, which has five players present. English national team players Phil Foden and Declan Rice are two potential players to break the €100 million benchmark—another candidate is Jude Bellingham from Dortmund and Spanish midfielder Pedri. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold had a market value of more than €100 million before the pandemic. Alexander-Arnold’s teammate Mohamed Salah has recently fallen below the €100 million benchmark. Vinicius Junior reached €100 million in December 2021, the forward scored the game-winning goal in the Champions League final.
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).
