Player valuation update: Mbappé retains first place

04.10.2022

According to the latest Player Valuation update by Football Benchmark, Kylian Mbappé is still the most valuable footballer at EUR 222.9m and the only one with a value exceeding EUR 200m. At second is Erling Haaland, with a value of EUR 165.6m and a EUR 21.8m increase since July, closing the gap to Mbappé. The Norwegian striker transferred to City from Dortmund during the summer and had an extraordinary start to the season with 17 goals scored in 11 games. Phil Foden and Vinícius Jr. are tied for third and fourth with the same value of EUR 136.8m.

Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Pedri are placed respectively in fifth, sixth and seventh position – all elite young players logging significant minutes for their clubs. As such, they are obviously highly sought after by other members of the European elite, however only Bellingham seems to be primed for a move next summer; Alexander-Arnold and Pedri are expected to spend the upcoming years of their career in Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona, respectively. Bellingham is the primary midfield target for many clubs in Europe.

The top 10 is completed by Mason Mount, Harry Kane, and Bruno Fernandes, with values just below EUR 100m. Kane and Bruno Fernandes are also the most senior players of the top 10.

Overall, six out of ten players are from in the English Premier League (EPL), demonstrating yet again its dominance over other leagues. There are also no representatives of the Italian Serie A, which is the only “Big Five” league not to make an appearance on the list. It is worth noting that the composition of the top 10 remained constant for the most part: nine players out of ten were already on the list in July. The only new entry is Mason Mount, who is predicted to renew his contract with Chelsea FC soon and thus potentially increase his valuation even further.

 

 

Gavi is number one on the list of players by estimated value growth compared to July, primarily thanks to his recently renewed contract; he is now tied to FC Barcelona until June 2026. Haaland is second following his stellar performances during the early part of the season. Highly sought after Ukrainian youngster Mykhaylo Mudryk (Shakhtar Donetsk) is the only player outside the “Big Five” leagues on the list.

 

 

Some players already discussed are also among the most valuable players under the age of 21. This is the case for Bellingham and Gavi, who are placed first and second, respectively. FC Barcelona have the most representatives in this ranking as Gavi and Ansu Fati are part of this top 10 together with Pedri. Florian Wirtz is the only new entry in the group, replacing Bukayo Saka who turned 21 recently and thus was not eligible for selection.

 

 

The dominance of the Premier League is even more evident when we analyse the top 10 squads by estimated market value: all the EPL “Big Six” are part of it. The only club above the EUR 1bn squad value is Manchester City FC, while Liverpool FC, FC Bayern München, Paris Saint-Germain FC and FC Barcelona are all very close to this threshold. AC Milan falls just outside the top 10 with a squad value of EUR 694m: they won the Scudetto in the 2021/2022 season, increasing the value of their key squad members, and then spent over EUR 30 million for the signature of talented Belgian attacker, Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge KV.

 

 

During the last two rounds of the Nations League in September there were fierce contests to decide who finishes in first position and then progresses to the Final Four in the four groups of League A. In the end, Spain, Italy, Croatia and the Netherlands were the four victorious sides. Let’s take a look at who are their three most valuable players at the moment.

As the chart shows, FC Internazionale Milano are heavily represented in this group: they employ Nicolò Barella (Italy), Alessandro Bastoni (Italy) and Marcelo Brozović (Croatia), as well. Spain have the only player in Pedri whose value exceeds EUR 100 million among the four national teams.

 

 

*Note
Football Benchmark’s Player Valuation tool monitors market values for 8,300+ players from 15 leagues (England Premier League and EFL Championship, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, Portuguese Primeira Liga, Turkish Süper Lig, Dutch Eredivisie, Belgian First Division A, Brazilian Serie A, Argentinian Superliga, Austria Bundesliga, Russian Premier Liga and Saudi Arabian Pro League) and from several top teams in other leagues.
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