For the first time in the 2021/22 season, Transfermarkt.co.uk has given all Premier League players a new market value – the bottom line is that there are clearly more losers than winners, because only three of the 20 clubs were able to record a plus in squad value. Among others, cuts were made in the cases of Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne, Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish.
The biggest drop is shared by Grealish and Kane, two players who would have liked to join Man City in the summer. Daniel Busch, area manager UK, says: “After his failed move from Tottenham to the City, Kane didn’t get into form for a long time. Only two Premier League goals to date are far too few to justify his €120 million market value. Consequently, there is a minus of €20 million.”
This leaves Kane as one of only five footballers with a market value in the triple-digit millions. Man City’s 30-year-old playmaker De Bruyne, who drops from €100m to €90m, and Grealish, who joined from Aston Villa for €117m in the summer are leaving that squad. “The record transfer has recently not played quite as big a role as at the beginning of the season and thus could not justify his high market value in international comparison,” Busch says, explaining the devaluation for Grealish from €100 million to €80 million.
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In the club of the €100 million players, Ronaldo was last seen in the spring of 2019 – this time it goes from €45 million to €35 million for the Manchester United returnee. That this is a purely age-related minus should be clear to every fan, because the Portuguese still carries the Red Devil’s attack on his shoulders on many occasions. Whether this is a curse or a blessing, Ralf Rangnick will find out by the end of the season.
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There is also the next devaluation for Ronaldo’s teammate Sancho since his long-awaited transfer from BVB to Old Trafford. However, the deal has so far mainly left its mark on Dortmund’s account, as the winger has been searching for his form in Manchester for the past five months.
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“Only one goal contribution in 13 Premier League appearances is a disappointing result so far, which also affects the market value. The fact that United are struggling in the league certainly hasn’t helped him to settle in either. However, with a corresponding improvement in form, it can quickly go up again. Now there is a minus of €5 million,” Busch says about Sancho’s new market value of €85 million.
Meanwhile, a €5 million plus is received by Phil Foden, who is now also valued at €85 million. The versatile midfielder and Sancho know each other from Manchester City’s U18s and various English youth teams, for which the now 21-year-olds were on the pitch together a total of 43 times between 2015 and 2018. Today, Foden plays an important role for the Three Lions and Man City, while Sancho is still searching for his form from his Dortmund days at Man United and has recently been sidelined in the national team. The last time the highly talented Englishmen held the same market value was at the beginning of 2018, when they were both worth €5 million.
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At the time, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold was also considered a young defender with a lot of potential and was also valued at €5 million. Today, thanks to a €5 million upgrade to €80 million, he is once again the sole most valuable defender in the world. Busch says: “After a weaker phase last season, Liverpool and TAA are back in top form. The right-back is partly the lynchpin of the game, which is also reflected in his stats – the Reds’ homegrown talent is the best provider among all defenders in Europe with eleven assists.”
Davies & Hakimi on par The most valuable defenders in the world Click here for overview The biggest winner in Jürgen Klopp’s squad is Diogo Jota, who is now the first option at centre-forward, making a jump from €45 million to €60 million. Despite TAA and Jota, the Reds’ squad value goes down slightly by €5.5 million overall – a barely noticeable devaluation with a total market value of now €867 million.
17 out of 20 Premier League clubs with minus in squad value
It is a different story for Tottenham, who receive the biggest losses in absolute terms: For the Spurs squad it goes down by €54 million – that corresponds to a minus of 7.7%. Newcastle United, who according to their own fans are “richer than Man City,” are hit even harder. The relegation candidates have seen 17 players devalued, with only Allan Saint-Maximin receiving a slight increase, resulting in a loss in squad value of 10% or €24.5 million.
The only team to post an overall gain above the €10 million mark are newly-promoted Brentford (+€12.6 million), who sit nine points above the relegation zone in mid-table. The Bees thus increased their squad value by 6.3% to €211.5 million, overtaking clubs such as Eintracht Frankfurt, Red Bull Salzburg and Athletic Bilbao, among others. The biggest winner in head coach Thomas Frank’s squad is left-back Rico Henry, for whom it goes from €10 million to €15 million.
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).
