Jude Bellingham has been named as the player with the highest estimated transfer value in world football on the heels of his blistering debut season for Real Madrid.
The England international stamped his mark on LaLiga from his very first outing for Los Blancos following his £113million transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer, and finished his league campaign with 19 goals and six assists to his name.
The 20-year-old scored made a total of 35 goal contributions across all competitions for the Spanish giants, and will look to add to his haul in his final outing for his club this season – Saturday’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
Based on analysis gathered by CIES Football Observatory, the midfielder’s power is such that he has more than doubled his transfer value, with an estimated price on his talents now is a staggering £236million (€280m).
But Bellingham is just one of three Real Madrid players named to the top 10, with his team-mates Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo both sneaking into the top five highest-valued players on the eve of their European final.
Jude Bellingham is the most valuable player in world football according to new stats analysis
The 20-year-old’s dazzling Real Madrid debut sees him pip team-mates including Vinicius Junior (pictured left, celebrating his side’s LaLiga triumph this campaign) to the top spot
Rodrygo (right) is the third Real star to make the top five ahead of the Champions League final
The former Birmingham City starlet had previously named the former as ‘the best in the world’, shortly after Vinicius had described Bellingham similarly, joking that if the pair thought that about one another, they should ‘split (the Ballon d’Or) in two’.
Vinicius Junior sits third in the rankings, with an estimated value of £204.9m, with Rodrygo just behind him in fourth – and worth approximately £187.8m.
But the Madrid trio are bisected by a player from a club which is also well-represented in the top 10 – Manchester City.
Erling Haaland may not have been able to exactly replicate his record-busting Treble-winning debut season at the Etihad, but still scooped Man City’s record fourth-consecutive Premier League title.
The Norwegian goalscorer also won back-to-back Golden Boots, having netted 27 goals – five clear of his nearest rival, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer.
As such, Haaland was named the player with the second-highest transfer value, £217.2m.
His Man City team-mate Phil Foden rounds out the top five, with an estimated value of £173.4m just days after being named both the Premier League Player of the Season and Football Writers Association Player of the Year.
Erling Haaland may not have been able to match his debut season but was still named second
His Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden rounds out the top five after a stunning season
| Name | Club | Value* |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | £238.6m |
| 2. Erling Haaland | Manchester City | £217.2m |
| 3. Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | £204.9m |
| 4. Rodrygo | Real Madrid | £187.8m |
| 5. Phil Foden | Manchester City | £173.4m |
| 6. Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | £166.1m |
| 7. Julian Alvarez | Manchester City | £143.3m |
| 8. Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | £119.8m |
| 9. Martin Odegaard | Arsenal | £115.3m |
| 10. Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | £113.8m |
| * data estimated by CIES Football Observatory | ||
Arsenal standouts Bukayo Saka (left) and Martin Odegaard (right) were both named to the list
The next on the list is the first representative of another English side, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, who is valued at £166.1m.
Saka’s team-mate Martin Odegaard also makes the cut in the top 10, with an estimated value of £115.3m.
While both English and Spanish sides are nicely represented in the top 10, the first Bundesliga player to make an appearance in the rankings is Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
After rising to become one of the standouts in the German side’s historic unbeaten domestic season, the academy prospect is now thought to be valued at a staggering £113.8m.
But in the top 20 players ranked, Wirtz is one of only three currently featuring in Germany, along with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala (£102m) and Paris Saint-Germain loanee Xavi Simons, who has been playing for RB Leipzig (£95m).
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Of Europe’s top leagues, Serie A and Ligue 1 have even fewer players at the top of the heap, with the highest-valued player in the French top-flight – PSG’s talented teen Warren Zaire-Emery, estimated to be worth £91m – only appearing in 21st place.
Italy’s league showing was even less impressive, with their highest-rated prospect, AC Milan forward Rafael Leao, the 31st most-valuable player in world football, at £85m.
Much of the upper-end of the standings is dominated by players featuring in European sides, and the highest-valued player outside of those clubs – Palmerias’ Endrick, valued at approximately £78.2m – is already earmarked for UEFA competition next season.
The highly rated teenager is currently on loan at his former Brazilian club from Real Madrid.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
