A new decade has brought new faces at the top end of football’s most valuable players list.
The CIES Football Observatory, based in Switzerland, has revealed its latest list of the players who would command the highest transfer fee were they to move club.
And there’s a few surprises since the last release in August, with Manchester United’s Paul Pogba not making the top 20 this time around as his value has fallen from €125.1 million to €80.4m, according to the algorithm used by CIES.
Pogba has missed much of the season through injury, but is still a sought-after talent and continues to be linked with a move away from Old Trafford. His contract is due to expire in 2021 with an option for a further year.
Leicester City’s James Maddison is now estimated to be the highest valued midfielder in the world, having helped to push his side to within one place of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, who has scored 13 Premier League goals this season, makes the top 20, but there is no place for Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo, whose value is estimated to have dropped from €118.1m to €80.3m since August.
Liverpool’s Alisson Becker is the highest valued goalkeeper at €87m, while teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold has the highest transfer value for a defender at €110m. Virgil van Dijk is valued at €93m.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe unsurprisingly retains his number one position in the list.
CIES takes into account variables such as age, contract, position, minutes, goals, international status, team results to calculate the values.
See the top 20 list in the slideshow at the top of the screen.
And check out the video below to see the highest earning sportspeople of the decade.
