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The transfer windows have been quite a ride over the past few seasons and we have seen a number of deals where the money paid in order to secure the services of a player is ridiculously huge.
Deals that cost around £100 million are starting to become commonplace and it looks set to remain that way. Just over the past few seasons, we have seen transfer records being broken several times.
With this inflated transfer market as our backdrop, let's take a look at the most valuable XI from among all the footballers in the world right now.
Most valuable XI (formation 4-3-3)
Jan Oblak (Goalkeeper) - £72 million
The Atletico Madrid stalwart, who is arguably the best goalkeeper in the business, is rated at £72 million. The Slovenian international joined Atletico Madrid from Benfica in 2014 for £16 million and made an impact almost instantly, displacing the then no. 1 Miguel Angel Moya halfway through the season.
Ever since, he has been a dominant presence between the sticks for Diego Simeone. A shotstopper of the highest order, Oblak has contributed greatly to the excellent defensive record of Atletico Madrid.
Oblak is tall, strong, athletic and brave and is everything that you'd want a good goalkeeper to be. He also has a big character and has been consistently praised for his leadership skills as well.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Right-back) - £99 million
Bend it like Beckham, they say and bend it like Beckham Trent Alexander-Arnold does. He is already one of the best right-backs in the world at the age of 21 and alongside Andy Robertson, he forms one of the most effective fullback duos in football right now.
Trent is excellent defensively and is a vital cog in attack as well. He is a menacing presence down the right wing and has a great passing range too. The Englishman is always trying to put the ball in the box and whips in some spectacular early balls into the box for the Liverpool forwards to feed on.
Trent registered 13 assists from the right-back position in the Premier League this season for Liverpool and he is also an incredible set-piece taker.
Matthijs De Light (Centre-back) - £60.75 million
The former Ajax wonderkid won the Golden Boy award in 2018 becoming the first defender to do so, at the age of 19. He moved to Juventus after a great season at the Dutch club for €75 million.
Though he stuttered for a bit initially, he is growing into his own at Turin and is the second most valuable centre-back in the world at the moment. De Ligt is both technically and physically gifted. After all, he used to play as an attacking midfielder in his early days.
He is a good passer of the ball and uses his physicality to his advantage and he is already one of the best centre-backs in the world and he is definitely going to do some great things in his career.
Virgil Van Dijk (Centre-back) - £72 million
Virgil Van Dijk is easily the best centre-back in the world and upon arriving at Liverpool, he immediately transformed Jurgen Klopp's unit into a juggernaut with his dominant presence at the back.
Liverpool had been an exciting attacking team by that point but they were leaking goals at the back. VVD came in and there was an immediate shift. Suddenly the doors at the back were closed and Anfield became a fortress once again.
The Dutchman is also both technically and physically gifted and has enough pace to keep up with some of the fastest players in the league.
David Alaba (Left-back) - £58.5 million
David Alaba has been excellent for Bayern Munich for more than a decade now after breaking onto the first team in 2009. Alaba is a solid attacking fullback who contributes greatly to Bayern Munich's drives into opposition territory.
He is pacy and is good with the ball at his feet. The Austrian is also an excellent passer of the ball and has clocked a pass completion rate of 90.2% in the Bundesliga this season.
Alaba's current contract at Bayern Munich will expire this summer but he is still valued at £58.5 million.
Midfielders
Joshua Kimmich (Defensive midfielder) - £67.5 million
The Bayern Munich midfield administrator Joshua Kimmich is one of the best versatile players in the world. Neat with the ball and always making and finding space however tight the midfield is, Kimmich has burgeoned into one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in no time.
Kimmich used to slot in as a right-back and a centre-back. However, it was evident that a player who is so good at progressing the ball could help the midfield better. He is excellent at attacking and provides solid support for his backline as well and really has all the qualities you'd want of your number 6.
Kai Havertz (Right attacking-midfielder) - £72.9 million
Kai Havertz is all set to complete a big-money move to Chelsea from Bayer Leverkuson, according to reports. And why not? He has been absolutely brilliant for the Bundesliga side this season, scoring 18 goals and setting up another 8 across all competitions this season from an attacking midfield position.
At 21 years of age, he is one of the most exciting young prospects in Europe and works wonders for his side in tight areas in the opposition half. Excellent with the ball at his feet, Havertz is also a neat passer of the ball. Standing at 189 cms, the German is a threat in the air as well.
Kevin de Bruyne (Left attacking-midfielder) - £108 million
Kevin de Bruyne is arguably the best attacking midfielder in the world. The Manchester City man has been perhaps the most important player in Pep Guardiola's star studded side.
It's hard to find a midfielder who has the vision, pace, shooting ability, longevity and mentality of the Belgian. He works like a machine and is also one of the best free-kick takers playing in England right now.
De Bruyne has been crucial to Manchester City's back to back Premier League title wins and he has been as influential as ever this time around, scoring 16 goals and providing 22 assists across all competition for the Etihad outfit this season.
Forwards
Mohamed Salah (Right winger) - £108 million
Mohamed Salah returned to the Premier League a couple of years back and started tearing up the league in a way that we hadn't seen perhaps since Cristiano Ronaldo set sail for the Spanish shores.
The Egyptian has been outstanding for Liverpool and will now be regarded as one of the distinguished signings that were made by the Merseysiders under Jurgen Klopp as he transformed an average looking side into world beaters.
Mohamed Salah is almost impossible to catch once he gets the beating of a defender and his close control and quick turns and shoulder drops continue to cause pandemonium inside the opposition's box.
Salah has been delivering the goods for Liverpool since day one and had yet another stellar season scoring 19 goals and providing 10 assists for the Premier League champions.
Raheem Sterling (Left winger) - £115.2 million
Raheem Sterling has grown into one of the world's best attackers under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola and every time he receives the ball on the left side of the box, he threatens to cause havoc.
Sterling is excellent with the ball at his feet and loves to wriggle out of tight spaces, cut in to his favoured right-foot and go hell for leather. The Englishman scored 30 goals for Manchester City this term in addition to 4 assists and is often Manchester City's main man to go for goals alongside Sergio Aguero or Gabriel Jesus.
Kylian Mbappe (Striker) - £162 million
The most obvious successor to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, no defender smiles at the idea of going up against the pacy and skilful Frenchman. Mbappe was one of the architects of France's World Cup win and at the age of 21, he is already one of the best forwards on the planet.
After his breakout season for Monaco, he was immediately bought by Paris Saint-Germain for a sum in the ballpark of £150 million and he has continued to clock ridiculously huge numbers for both club and country.
Though he missed a chunk of the season due to injury, he still scored 30 goals from 35 games for the Ligue 1 champions this term across all competitions and racked up 10 assists as well.
