KYLIAN MBAPPE is by far and away the world’s most valuable footballer, according to a new study.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward’s value has skyrocketed to £231million despite the coronavirus pandemic – but he is followed by a quartet of English stars.
Making up the top five of CIES Football Observatory’s latest transfer values study are Raheem Sterling (£173m), Jadon Sancho (£159m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£152m) and Marcus Rashford (£135m).
The startling results reveal a changing of the guard away from the old duopoly of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Although the pair have shared 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or titles, they now sit 70th and 21st, respectively, in the value rankings.
That said, 35-year-old Juventus forward Ronaldo can boast being the oldest person in the top 100 players with the entire top five made up of men aged 25 and under.
Likewise, Messi is the most-expensive player aged over 30, even though his value is affected by the mere 12 months remaining on his Barcelona contract.
At the opposite end of the scale is the game’s most expensive teenager: Alphonso Davies at £119m.
Raheem Sterling’s stunning form has him second in the CIES systemCredit: PA:Press Association
Liverpool trio Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Mane all made the top tenCredit: AFP OR LICENSORS
No defenders get near either the Bayern Munich flyer or his Liverpool counterpart Alexander-Arnold, whose club colleagues Virgil van Dijk (£88m) and Andrew Robertson (£84m) also rate highly.
The Premier League champions elect unsurprisingly count several names towards the top of the leaderboard as Mohamed Salah (£129m) and Sadio Mane (£124m) are almost inseparable at sixth and seventh.
Roberto Firmino (£105m) is pipped for a place in the top ten by Antoine Griezmann (£121m) in eighth and Harry Kane (£106m) in tenth, with Davies in between.
Having not played since New Year’s Day, Kane’s decline in value is remarkable having been priced at £178m at the start of 2019.
Another forward falling down the list is Neymar, down in 37th place after joining Kane on the podium 18 months ago.
Mason Mount, Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet, and Richarlison are among the names now rated as more valuable than the Brazilian, at £74m.
Paulo Dybala’s price has also more than halved, down from £152m in January 2019 to just £62m ahead of this summer.
Of the big risers, Manchester United fans can boast Rashford’s launch up the leaderboard with Bruno Fernandes being named the world’s most valuable central attacking midfielder, at £93m.
Bernardo Silva (£102m) and Gabriel Jesus (£101m) enter the top 20 to add to Manchester City’s ranks while Arsenal can count on Nicolas Pepe (£65m) and Matteo Guendouzi (£47m) further down the pecking order.
Premier League’s most valuable XI revealed costing staggering £1.19BILLION – including SIX Liverpool stars
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
