Bellingham tops CIES transfer value list as Madrid dominate،
As 2024 approaches, the CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland has released its annual list of the top 100 male players in world football with the highest estimated transfer value.
After going through the top 100, whose values are based on a statistical algorithm created by examining more than 6,000 transfers around the world, here are our main takeaways, with the annual reminder that the world record for a transfer in men's football is student at €. 222 million (Neymar, Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, 2017.)
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Bellingham would be the most valuable transfer
Given his sublime form since joining Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of €103 million this summer, it's no surprise that midfielder Bellingham is at the top of the list after seeing his estimated transfer value rise to €267.5 million.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed instant success with a remarkable 17 goals in 22 games in all competitions, while he is also La Liga's top scorer with 13 so far.
Madrid are unlikely to part ways with their star man in the near future, but it is worth noting that Bellingham's transfer value is almost €15 million higher than the second player in the top 100 (the Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, 251.2 million euros). .)
The 🔟 most expensive players* 💵
🥇 @BellinghamJude 🏴 €2⃣6⃣8⃣m
🥈 @ErlingHaaland 🇳🇴€2⃣5⃣1⃣m
🥉 @vinijr 🇧🇷 €2⃣5⃣0⃣m#Rodrygo 🇧🇷 #Saka ❤️ #Foden ❤️ #Gavi 🇪🇸 #Alvarez 🇦🇷 #Musiala 🇩🇪 #Odegaard 🇳🇴
* Transfer value according to @CIES_Football model
Top 💯 👉 https://t.co/P1kLZlxs2x pic.twitter.com/MmMcxxpnQP– CIES Football Observer (@CIES_Football) January 4, 2024
Real Madrid have a stock of young talents
Three of the top four players on the CIES list are Real Madrid starlets, with Bellingham joined at the top by teammate Vinícius Júnior. (€250.3 million) and Rodrygo (€247.9 million), third and fourth respectively.
The oldest of the trio is Vinícius, who is 23, proving that Madrid's forward guard will be in good hands for some time.
Nine of the top ten are from either the English Premier League or the Spanish La Liga, and represent a total of four clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Arsenal.
After the Madrid trio, Barcelona has an entrant in the person of Gavi (7th). As for the Premier League contingent, Man City has Haaland (2nd), Phil Foden (6th) and Julián Álvarez (8th), while Arsenal has Bukayo Saka (5th) and Martin Ødegaard (10th).
Jamal Musiala (9th) from Bayern Munich is the only player from outside the English and Spanish elites to break through to the upper echelons of the CIES rankings. Indeed, the trend continues throughout the top 20, with Florian Wirtz (20th) from Bayer Leverkusen being the only player present who practices his trade outside the Premier League or La Liga.
The major championships from the rest of Europe stay in touch
Even if they barely disturb the top 20, the other five major championships of European football are not far off the pace.
As already noted, Bayern's Musiala (€152.4 million) tops the German Bundesliga as he sits just inside the top 10, while the Italian Serie A representative comes in the form of l Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (115.3 million euros), who is 21st.
Elsewhere, unsurprisingly, the French Ligue 1 has PSG striker Kylian Mbappé as No.1, but the 24-year-old's relatively low transfer value of €106.2 million (largely due to the expiration of his contract this summer) places him in 27th position. below Arsenal's Kai Havertz (€106.8m) and Newcastle's Bruno Guimarães (€109.7m).
Gems to discover beyond the Big Five
Even though Europe's big five leagues dominate the top 100, it's worth noting that there are top youngsters beyond those boundaries.
According to CIES, Benfica defender António Silva has the highest estimated transfer value in the world (€114.1 million) outside of these leagues. The 20-year-old centre-back is also the most highly rated defender on the list and ranks 23rd, with Arsenal's William Saliba (€104.3m) his closest competitor.
Outside Europe, the best hope is Endrick, the 17-year-old Palmeiras starlet (82.7 million euros). Given Real Madrid's exemplary track record when it comes to finding the stars of tomorrow, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to learn that the Brazilian striker has already agreed to sign for The Whites for 72 million euros when he turns 18 this summer.
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Arsenal reserve goalkeeper has value
They may have three outfield players in the top 11 (Saka, Ødegaard and Gabriel Martinelli), but Arsenal can also boast the world's most valuable goalkeeper among them – and he's not even the current number 1 of the Gunners!
Strange as it may seem, CIES has ranked Aaron Ramsdale (€79.6 million) at the top of the tree, despite having only played five times in the league this season after losing his place at profit from David Raya. Additionally, the England international is one of only two goalkeepers in the top 100: the other being Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel (€77.2m).
Transfer values soar
It's no secret that transfer values at the elite level of football are increasing every year, with transfer records seemingly broken in every window, but the CIES list confirms the fact that player values have exploded in recent years. within 12 months.
Indeed, compared to the corresponding list established by CIES at the start of 2023, the number of players with a potential value exceeding 100 million euros has almost doubled, from 20 to 39 – a clear reflection of the significant inflation that has occurred during a calendar year. this saw Enzo Fernández, Declan Rice, Moisés Caicedo, Bellingham and Harry Kane all move for fees in excess of €100m.
Furthermore, the value of the 100th player in the Top 100 is €71.3 million (Anthony Gordon, Newcastle), compared to €53.4 million in June 2023. And when the CIES drew up the same list in January 2021, the striker Manchester United's Marcus Rashford was in the lead. worth €165m which would place him eighth in the 2024 list.
