ENGLAND boast the most valuable squad at this summer’s Euros.
Gareth Southgate’s side produced a disappointing display in their final warm-up game before heading to Germany as they lost 1-0 to Iceland at Wembley on Friday night.
But they remain the favourites to win the Euros due to the plethora of superstar players in their squad.
Names such as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka contribute to them being the highest-value nation at the tournament.
Southgate’s squad is understood to be worth a staggering £1.29BILLION.
And that figure could have been even higher had the England boss not left the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish out.
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Their squad value is £250million more than the next country on the list – World Cup finalists France [£1.04bn].
England and France are the only squads worth more than £1bn – which goes some way to explaining why they are the two outright favourites to triumph this summer.
Behind them come Portugal [£890m] and Spain [£820m], while hosts Germany [£722m] round off the top five.
Portugal are blessed with a hugely talented squad with Rafael Leao, Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Joao Paulinha all valued in excess of £50m.
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What Southgate said about axed England stars
WHAT Gareth Southgate said about his axed England stars after confirming his 26-man England squad for Euro 2024.
Harry Maguire
“The decision on Harry [Maguire] is totally about his physical condition and his recovery from the injury. There is no other reason as he is one of our strongest centre-backs.
“Harry has made some progress, but it’s been complicated and we wouldn’t have had him in the group stages. There were too many hurdles to get through without being clear where we might get to.
“Knowing we haven’t got a clean bill of health across the rest of the backline, we need players who are fit and ready to go from the start.
“It was a really difficult call, you know how I feel about Harry, what he’s done for England and for me as a manager. “
Jack Grealish
“I have just delivered a really difficult conversation to a lad who is devastated.
“I think the world of him as a kid.“It certainly doesn’t get any easier.
“You put yourself in the shoes of a player, a parent. You understand that for these players this is a devastating moment.
“We knew we had a couple of really difficult days coming up.”
James Maddison
“Madders [Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls.
“They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
“We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with.
“It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.”
Jarrad Branthwaite
“It’s a bit early for Jarrad [Branthwaite]. He has had a fabulous season, it was good to get him on the pitch the other night.
“But of course, in an ideal world, you’d like that balance of left-footers. For him to be in ahead of the others, I don’t think it would have been the right call at this stage.”
Jarell Quansah
“Jarell Quansah has stayed with us. He’s not had the experience of an England international at Wembley. It’ll be great for him to be us for the game.
“Hopefully we’re not needing to call anyone else in.”
They also have Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks, but with the Saudi-based superstar now aged 39, his value is considered closer to £12m.
Spain’s most valuable star is Man City powerhouse Rodri, who alone is considered to be worth over £100m.
For hosts Germany, it is two 21-year-olds who are considered their most prized assets.
Florian Wirtz, who just helped Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga, and Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich are both worth in excess of £100m.
The Netherlands [£717m] and Italy [£599m] complete a seven-country list of squads with an excess of £500m in talent.
The rest of the top 10 consists of Belgium [£496m], England’s group opponents Denmark [£367m] and Ukraine [£322m].
England begin their Euros campaign when they take on Serbia on Sunday, June 16.
The Serbs, who have lethal striker Aleksandr Mitrovic leading their line, are considered the 14th most valuable side in the competition.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
