Kylian Mbappe
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is the most valuable football player in the world, according Swiss research group CIES Football Observatory, followed by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. and new Manchester City recruit Erling Haaland.
Mbappe, who turned down Real and signed a new three-year deal at PSG last month, topped the list with an estimated transfer value of €205.6 million ($219.5 million), beating Vinicius (€185.3m) and Haaland (€152.6m).
Mbappe’s PSG teammate Neymar holds the current transfer record. The French champions paid Barcelona €222m for his signature in 2017.
The top five was rounded off by Barca youngster Pedri (€135.1m) and Borussia Dortmund’s English midfielder Jude Bellingham (€133.7m).
The CIES Football Observatory uses such indicators as player age, performance, career progression and contract duration to arrive at a transfer value.
The latest list was dominated by Premier League players, with 41 representatives in the top 100.
City’s Ruben Dias (€109.6m) had the highest transfer value for a defender while PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma (€73.7m) led among goalkeepers.
City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, 30, was the oldest player on the list, with a value of €57.3m.
The top 10 in full:
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) €205.6m
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) €185.2m
Erling Haaland (Manchester City) €152.6m
Pedri (Barcelona) €135.1m
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) €133.7m
Phil Foden (Manchester City) €124m
Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) €112.5m
Luis Diaz (Liverpool) €110m
Ruben Dias (Manchester City) €109.6m
Ferran Torres (Barcelona) €109.5m.