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What's the story?
Egyptian and Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah has overtaken Barcelona star Lionel Messi on the list of the world's most valuable footballers, while Juventus man Cristiano Ronaldo is nowhere to be seen on the list of the ten highest-valued forwards.
In case you didn't know...
Every month, the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), a Swiss-based football statistics institute, updates the transfer valuations of players in the top five football leagues using its exclusive algorithm.
The valuations are calculated based on multiple variables like a player's age, performances, contract length and potentially interested clubs.
The heart of the matter
In CIES' latest rankings, we see a top ten list for each field-position category - forwards, centre-backs, fullbacks, midfielders and goalkeepers.
In the top ten most valuable forwards list is World Cup and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe who is valued at €216.5 million (R3.5 billion).
The Frenchman replaced Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane who is worth an estimated €197.3 million (R3.21 billion).
PSG and Brazilian star Neymar Jr. completes the top three as he is valued at €197 million (R3.2 billion).
Liverpool and Egyptian ace Mohamed Salah has climbed the standings to the fourth position, surpassing even five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi.
The Egyptian winger is valued at €173 million (R2.8 billion), while sixth-placed Messi's value has dropped down to €170.6 million (R2.78 million).
The Argentine ace is also ranked lower than his fifth-placed Barcelona teammate Philippe Coutinho who is valued at €171.3 million.
The rest of the top ten features Manchester City's Raheem Sterling (at €164.6 million), Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku (at €164.3 million), Atletico Madrid's Antoine Greizmann (at €157.7 million) and Juventus' Paulo Dybala (at €155.6 million)
Portuguese and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, however, does not feature in the top ten at all.
What's next?
While the list has a few surprising names at present, it is expected to change depending on the performances of the players going forward. A strong showing from Barcelona's leading man could yet propel him into the top five.
