4.1 million fans worldwide, according to the most recent data, are what make soccer the sport with the most followers in the world. And so too, it is one of the most lucrative businesses in which each soccer player acquires a certain value according to his abilities. Are Lionel Messi and CR7 still among the most valuable?
The Football Observatory, CIES, has a ranking that lists which players in the world are the most valuable at this time. The main criterion for this ranking is the transfer value of the footballers. This ranking also shows other details of interest such as the value in euros that the current team paid for each player, his club, his age, how many more years his contract is valid for and his nationality.
Here are some data that this ranking shows:
The 5 most valuable players in the world
French striker Kylian Mbappé now plays for Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, with whom he has a contract until June 2025.
This 23-year-old footballer has a sports value of 205.6 million euros, which has positioned him as the most valuable in the world, according to CIES data.
Kylian Mbappé is the only footballer in this ranking who has a value of over 200 million euros.
After Mbappé are:
- Vinicius Junior, Brazilian striker with a football value of 185.3 million euros. He is the only Latin American soccer player who is in this top 5 of the most valuable soccer players in the world.
- Erling Haaland, Norwegian striker for the German club Borrussia Dortmund, with a value of 152.6 million euros.
- Pedri González, Spanish forward of the FC Barcelona club, with a value of 135.1 million euros.
- Jude Bellingham, midfielder for the Borrussia Dortmund club, worth 133.7 million euros.
The 5 countries with the most valuable players
This ranking also gives some data on which countries have the most footballers considered among the most valuable in the world, regardless of the club they play for.
- 18% of the world’s most valuable players are from England.
- 11% of the most valuable players in the world are from Brazil. Once again, it is the only Latin American country with the highest number of most valuable soccer players in the CIES ranking.
- France is the 3rd country with the most soccer players among the most valuable in the world, with 9%
- Portugal and Spain, with 8% each one of the most valuable players in the world.
Brazil (18 soccer players), Argentina (4 players), Uruguay (3 soccer players) and Colombia (1 player) are the only countries in Latin America, so far, with soccer players considered among the most valuable in the world.
The 5 most valuable players… and youngest
Soccer is one of the sports where age counts a lot to determine the sporting value of a player. Among the most valuable and youngest in this ranking are:
- Pablo Gavi, FC Barcelona midfielder, barely 17 years old and with an estimated sporting value of 58.5 million euros.
- Jude Bellingham, British midfielder who plays for the Borrussia Dortmund club. At 18 years of age and worth 133.7 million euros, he is the fifth most valuable footballer in the ranking.
- Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, with an estimated sports value of 87.7 million euros and 19 years old.
- Jamal Musiala, Bayern forward, at 19 years old, is already among the most valuable: 105.3 million euros.
- Pedri Gonzalez, also 19 years old, is one of the current FC Barcelona midfielders. His sports value is estimated at 135.1 million euros, with which he is positioned as the fourth most valuable footballer in the world.
The greatest of the most valuable
Even when age is decisive in sports like soccer, there are cases in which talent becomes more relevant. The oldest and most valuable footballers in the ranking are 30 years old and among them are:
- Kevin de Bruyne, Belgian midfielder who plays for Manchester City and currently has a sports value of 57.3 million euros.
- Thibaut Courtois, Belgian goalkeeper who plays for Real Madrid and whose sporting value is estimated at 62.4 million euros.
- Carlos Casemiro, Real Madrid midfielder, with a sports value of 53.5 million euros.
- Mohamed Salah, Egyptian striker who plays for Liverpool and who, according to the CIES ranking, is currently worth 55 million euros.
Where are CR7 and Lionel Messi?
As we said at the beginning, the main criterion of this ranking is the transfer value of the footballers, which does not necessarily coincide with their salary or fortune.
But if the main criterion is the salary or the fortune of the footballers, the list changes a bit and then Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are located in the 2nd and 3rd places among the highest paid. In accordance with Forbeswhich considers the earnings of the footballers for the 2022-2023 seasons including base salary, bonuses, sponsorships and products, the highest paid footballers for 2022 are:
- Kylian Mbappé, with earnings of 110 million dollars on court and 18 million dollars off the court
- Lionel Messiwith earnings of $65 million on the court and $55 million off the court
- Cristiano Ronaldowith earnings of $40 million on the court and $60 million off the court
- Neymar Jr., with earnings of 55 million dollars on court and 32 million dollars off the pitch
- Mohamed Salah, with earnings of 35 million dollars on court and 18 million dollars off the court
- Erling Haaland, with earnings of 35 million dollars on court and 4 million dollars off the court
- Robert Lewandowski, with earnings of $27 million on court and $8 million off the court
- Eden Hazard, with earnings of $27 million on court and $4 million off the court
- Andrés Iniesta, with earnings of 25 million dollars on the pitch and 5 million dollars off the pitch
- Kevin DeBruyne, with earnings of $25 million on court and $4 million off the court
What do you think of these data? Is CR7, Lionel Messi or any of these players among your favourites? If you are an entrepreneur and soccer fan and want to know how to apply this sport to your business, we share the soccer strategies that you can apply to your SME.
Rocio Reyes Communicologist specialized in science journalism and digital marketing. Curiosity leads this being with a cat personality to find links where apparently there are none. Whenever I can, I like to contribute even a bit of what I’ve learned. Fan of the world of entrepreneurship and MMA.