Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe has been declared the most expensive football player in the world currently, followed by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr and Manchester City’s latest signing Erling Haaland. This is according to research group CIES Football Observatory.
Mbappe, who recently rejected a move to 2022 UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid to remain at Parc des Princes, tops the list with an estimated transfer value of 175.7 million pounds.
Meanwhile, Madrid’s attacker Vinicius Jr, who scored the only goal in the final of the recently concluded Champions League final against Liverpool, is second at 158.3 million, followed by former Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland (130.4m), who recently joined Manchester City.
World Cup winner Mbappe signed a new three-year contract with the Parc des Princes outfit last month after he opted to stay in Paris rather than moving to Madrid. The 23-year-old was in sublime form last season, scoring 28 goals in Ligue 1 to help Les Parisiens win the 2021-22 title.
The top five was rounded off by Barcelona’s teenage sensation Pedri at 115.4m and Borussia Dortmund’s England international Jude Bellingham at 114.2m. Premier League clubs dominate the list, with 41 of their players named in the top 100.
Phil Foden of Manchester City is sixth in the list with a valuation of 105.9m pounds, followed by Pedri’s Barca teammate Frankie de Jong at a valuation of 96.1m pounds, Liverpool’s Luis Diaz at 94m pounds.
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias (93.6m) and his former teammate Ferran Torres (93.5m) complete the top 10. City’s 30-year-old midfielder and Premier League player of the season Kevin de Bruyne is the oldest player in the top 100 with a value of 48.9m pounds, whilst Barcelona’s 17-year-old Gavi is the youngest at 49.9 million pounds.
City’s Portuguese defender Ruben Dias has the highest transfer value for a defender at 93.6m, while PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma led among the goalkeepers at 62.9m pounds. Meanwhile, Darwin Nunez, who has been heavily linked with a move away from Benfica, has the highest valuation of 59.9m pounds for a player outside of Europe’s top five leagues.
The transfer value by CIES Football Observatory is arrived at after using indicators such as player age, performance, career progression and contract duration.
