Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi have both closed in on Paris St Germain’s Julian Mbappe among the world’s most valuable footballers, while Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped down to 20th place.
The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), a Swiss-based football statistics institute, has published its latest update on transfer values of Europe’s top players. Multiple variables were taken into consideration, including player performances, age, contract length and potentially interested clubs.
In the CIES’ latest edition of their ranking, Kylian Mbappe stayed at the top but increased his worth from €218.5 million (R3.6 billion) to €252 million (R4.2 billion). He is followed by Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah who is now valued at €219.6 million (R3.7 billion).
PFA player of the year Raheem Sterling completes the podium and is the third player whose worth is rated over €200 million (R3.3 billion), with the Manchester City star valued at €207.8 million (R3.5 billion).
Five time Ballon d’ Ore winner Messi climbed into fourth position with an estimated value of €167.4 million (R2.79 billion), while Borussia Dortmund’s English teenage sensation Jadon Sancho completes the top five with €159.4 million (R2.7 billion).
Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar was the biggest loser after seeing his value decrease from €197.1 (R3.3 billion) million to €124.7 million (R2.1 billion) following his last six months being overshadowed by injuries and off- the pitch controversies.
However Ronaldo, despite having a great debute season with Italian Champions Juventus has dropped from 19th into 20th position after his value fell from €127.2 million (R2.1 billion) to €118.1 million (R2 billion). The Portugal captain, though, is the most valuable footballer of players aged 33 or older.