CIES reveal 50 most valuable footballers in the world

  • Annual report reveals Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham as game's MVP at €267.5m
  • Five of top ten highest valued players belong to Premier League clubs
  • Bukayo Saka most expensive English player ahead of Phil Foden
Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are some of football's most valuable assets
Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are some of football's most valuable assets / ANP | Alvaro Medranda / Quality Sport Images
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Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham has been revealed as the most valuable player in world football by new CIES Football Observatory data.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a blistering start to life in Spain, so it's perhaps no surprise that his estimated transfer value has skyrocketed to €267.5m.

He is one of three Real Madrid players and five players overall to be worth in excess of €200m according to CIES - Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes rank third and fourth behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland, closely followed by Bukayo Saka.

A further three Premier League players round out the top ten, with the top 39 players in the world all valued in excess of €100m.

Read on for a full breakdown of the top 50 players.


50-41

Evan Ferguson
Brighton striker Evan Ferguson is valued just shy of €100m / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages

Trent-Alexander-Arnold, Jack Grealish, Bruno Fernandes and Alphonso Davies are four high-profile players who register in the top 100, but they all miss out on a place in the top 50 - the final position being held by West Ham United's Mohammed Kudus.

He's worth €93.8m to the Hammers - over double the €44.5m paid to Ajax back in August - and trails Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, who has enjoyed a ridiculously good start to life in the Bundesliga.

Manchester City summer signing Josko Gvardiol is worth just shy of €100m, as is Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes. Barcelona's Alejandro Balde is another defender worth slightly less than nine figures, with the others knocking on the door all playing in more advanced positions.

Premier League transfer target Nico Williams ranks 45th at €98.3m, Brighton's teenage sensation Evan Ferguson comes in at 43rd worth €99.2m, Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni is 42nd at €99.5m and Manchester United's big-money arrival Rasmus Hojlund sits 41st on the list at €99.7m - representing a profit for the Red Devils if sold for that figure.

Rank

Player

Club

Value

50.

Mohammed Kudus

West Ham United

€93.8m

49.

Alejandro Garnacho

Manchester United

€94.5m

48.

Harry Kane

Bayern Munich

€95.6m

47.

Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City

€96.4m

46.

Alejandro Balde

Barcelona

€98.2m

45.

Nico Williams

Athletic Club

€98.3m

44.

Gabriel Magalhaes

Arsenal

€98.7m

43.

Evan Ferguson

Brighton & Hove Albion

€99.2m

42.

Aurelien Tchouameni

Real Madrid

€99.5m

41.

Rasmus Hojlund

Manchester United

€99.7m


40-31

Lautaro Martínez
Lautaro Martinez is in tremendous form for Inter / Danilo Di Giovanni/GettyImages

Takefusa Kubo wasn't ever given the chance to show what he could do at Real Madrid, but the Japanese playmaker is now flourishing at the ever-improving Real Sociedad.

His estimated value is just below €100m, but Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo, wanted by Bayern Munich, creeps over by just €0.2m. That's slightly less than Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku, Tottenham playmaker Dejan Kulusevski and Napoli goal machine Victor Osimhen.

Premier League duo Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak are next, worth €101.9m and €102.7m respectively, and they trail Inter talisman Lautaro Martinez. Next are two more defensive minded players; Barcelona's Jules Kounde and Arsenal's record signing Declan Rice.

Rank

Player

Club

Value

40.

Takefusa Kubo

Real Sociedad

€99.8m

39.

Ronald Araujo

Barcelona

€100.2m

38.

Jeremy Doku

Manchester City

€100.3m

37.

Dejan Kulusevski

Tottenham Hotspur

€100.4m

36.

Victor Osimhen

SSC Napoli

€100.5m

35.

Cody Gakpo

Liverpool

€101.9m

34.

Alexander Isak

Newcastle United

€102.7m

33.

Lautaro Martinez

Inter

€102.9m

32.

Jules Kounde

Barcelona

€103.5m

31.

Declan Rice

Arsenal

€103.8m


30-21

William Saliba
William Saliba is the rock in Arsenal's defence / BSR Agency/GettyImages

Arsenal's Rolls-Royce centre-back William Saliba breaks into the top 30 at a value of €104.3m, just behind another two major Premier League signings this past summer. Chelsea's Cole Palmer has enjoyed a sensational start to life at Stamford Bridge and he's worth €104.9m, slightly less than Liverpool's World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister.

Kylian Mbappe has less than six months remaining on his Paris Saint-Germain contract - and is yet to decide what to do next - and that impacts his value greatly. The generational forward tips the money scale at €106.2m, though you'd assume he'd be top billing alongside Bellingham if tied down to a long-term contract.

Kai Havertz and Bruno Guimaraes are next, representing Arsenal and Newcastle United respectively, worth slightly less than emerging playmaker Xavi Simons.

Coveted young centre-back Antonio Silva is the most valuable defender in the world at €114.1m, trailing AC Milan forward Rafael Leao and Napoli's tricky winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Rank

Player

Club

Value

30.

William Saliba

Arsenal

€104.3m

29.

Cole Palmer

Chelsea

€104.9m

28.

Alexis Mac Allister

Liverpool

€105.1m

27.

Kylian Mbappe

Paris Saint-Germain

€106.2m

26.

Kai Havertz

Arsenal

€106.8m

25.

Bruno Guimaraes

Newcastle United

€109.7m

24.

Xavi Simons

RB Leipzig

€112.5m

23.

Antonio Silva

Benfica

€114.1m

22.

Rafael Leao

AC Milan

€114.2m

21.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

SSC Napoli

€115.3m


20-11

Darwin Nunez
Darwin Nunez is worth a hell of a lot to Liverpool / Jan Kruger/GettyImages

Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is wanted by Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, but his valuation of €117m may just dampen any hopes the trio have of luring him away from the surprise Bundesliga leaders.

Darwin Nunez may be struggling to find the back of the net with regularity at Liverpool, but he's still worth a cool €117.6m to the club - just less than what Rodri is worth to Manchester City.

Enzo Fernandez, who was Chelsea's record signing for just six months, holds an estimated value of €123.6m, which is slightly less than perennially injured Barcelona wonder boy Pedri.

Eduardo Camavinga is going from strength to strength at Real Madrid and that reflects in his valuation, while Marcus Rashford still has a solid foundation despite struggling for form at Manchester United.

Dominik Szoboszlai is worth far more than what Liverpool paid for him in the summer, standing at €138.6m, and Federico Valverde and Gabriel Martinelli are worth in excess of €140m - the latter just €1.8m short of the €150m mark.

Rank

Player

Club

Value

20.

Florian Wirtz

Bayer Leverkusen

€117.0m

19.

Darwin Nunez

Liverpool

€117.6m

18.

Rodri

Manchester City

€121.8m

17.

Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea

€123.6m

16.

Pedri Gonzalez

Barcelona

€125.2m

15.

Eduardo Camavinga

Real Madrid

€132.7m

14.

Marcus Rashford

Manchester United

€136.2m

13.

Dominik Szoboszlai

Liverpool

€138.6m

12.

Federico Valverde

Real Madrid

€140.7m

11.

Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal

€148.2m


10-1

Pablo Martin Paez Gaviria 'Gavi'
Gavi is the future for Barcelona / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages

The top ten players are all estimated to be worth at least €150m, starting with Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian was tipped for greatness when he joined Real Madrid as a 16-year-old, and his latest valuation suggests he's done what's required to be regarded as one of the world's best.

Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala is the premium playmaker in German football, so it's no shock that he's valued at €152.4m, and there's also a sky-high price attached to Manchester City's serial winner Julian Alvarez.

Barcelona youngster Gavi offers the financially-stricken Catalan giants hope for the future with a valuation of €175.4m - should they ever need to sell - though that's a good €20m short of Phil Foden's value at Manchester City.

Bukayo Saka is the second most valuable English footballer at a staggering €223m, but even he is someway short of a runaway top four. Real Madrid wing duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes combined are estimated to be worth just below €500m, with Erling Haaland the game's ultimate striker at €251.2m.

It's Jude Bellingham who is top dog though after a barnstorming opening to his Real Madrid career. The Stourbridge-born midfielder already has 17 goals to his name at the time of writing, popping up time and again when Carlo Ancelotti has needed him in both La Liga and in the Champions League.

Rank

Player

Club

Value

10.

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal

€150.6m

9.

Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich

€152.4m

8.

Julian Alvarez

Manchester City

€164.7m

7.

Gavi

Barcelona

€175.4m

6.

Phil Foden

Manchester City

€195.8m

5.

Bukayo Saka

Arsenal

€223.0m

4.

Rodrygo Goes

Real Madrid

€247.9m

3.

Vinicius Junior

Real Madrid

€250.3m

2.

Erling Haaland

Manchester City

€251.2m

1.

Jude Bellingham

Real Madrid

€267.5m


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