The highest market value football players at every position

Written by Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp is an experienced sports writer covering Soccer, NBA and NHL. He also writes in depth reviews of sports betting sites based on his personal experience.

, | Updated: May 2, 2023

The world of football is constantly evolving, and as new players burst onto the scene and established stars continue to shine, the market value of players is always changing. In this report, SportingPedia takes a closer look at the footballers with the highest market value at each position, where they play and also their home countries. We selected the 5 players with the highest market value at every position – Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders and Forwards. If there were more players with the same market value at the 5^th position, we also included them in the ranking to end up with a total of 26 Highest Value players. We then did visual breakdowns based on the League they play in, the team they play for and their country of origin.

Key Takeaways:

• The largest part of the highest market value players play in La Liga – 8, while the Premier League ranks second with 7
• Despite that 5 of the 12 semi-finalists in the UEFA European tournaments are from Italy, Serie A enjoys only one of the 26 most-expensive players
• Real Madrid is the team with the highest number of players on the list – 5
• Los Blancos are also the only team to have players, playing at all four positions to feature in our ranking
• Manchester City, PSG, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are the only other teams having more than one of the most expensive players in their squads
• Brazilians are the most on the list – 5, with the English players being 4
• Of all 26 players, only Diogo Costa does not play in any of the European top 5 leagues

League Analysis

Did you know that the Spanish La Liga is currently home to 8 of the world’s most valuable football players? It’s true! And while many argue that the English Premier League is the best championship, it actually takes 2nd place in our latest ranking, with 7 of the top players. But don’t sleep on Serie A, which boasts 5 of the 12 semi-finalists in the European Club Competitions – however, they only have one player among the most expensive in the world, with Victor Osimhen as an honorary inclusion. And let’s not forget about Diogo Costa, the only player on our list who’s not performing in any of the top 5 European leagues. He’s still defending the colors of his boyhood club Porto.

Teams Analysis

According to our latest ranking, Real Madrid has emerged as the Kings of Europe with the most top-valued players than any club. Two centuries ago Florentino Perez assembled the famous “El Galacticos”, and now Real is still on the very top when it comes to building a team of superstars. What’s more, they are the only team to have players from all four positions on the field. Not far behind are Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain who have four of the footballers with the highest market value each, while Barcelona and Bayern Munich are the only other clubs with more than one player on the coveted list.

The English Premier League can celebrate as it boasts the most teams with top-valued players, with four, while the Bundesliga takes the silver medal with three teams. Regrettably, La Liga lags behind with only Real Madrid and Barcelona representing the Spanish league on the list.

Nationality Analysis

In our list of the most valuable footballers in the world, it’s the Brazilians who take the top spot, with a whopping five players making the cut. Not to be outdone, the English have also made an impressive showing, coming in second with four footballers on the list. These two nations are head and shoulders above the rest, with only Portugal, France, Uruguay, and Spain boasting more than one player among the elite 26. In general, the five Brazilians have a total estimated worth of €350 million, while the English footballers make up for a combined value of €410 million.

Methodology

We made sure to cover all the main positions: goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards, and handpicked the five players with the highest market value in each category. But we didn’t stop there. We also included players who had the same market value as their peers, making sure not to leave any talented footballer behind. Victor Osimhen enters as honorary inclusion, as he was the only player valued at €100 million or more and not qualifying for the ranking.