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In the past five years, Spanish clubs have dominated European football, and in the last five seasons, the Champions League and Europa League has been won almost exclusively by LaLiga sides.
In the Champions League, Spanish clubs have emerged victorious in every one of the last five seasons. Real Madrid have been the dominant force, becoming the first team to win consecutive titles in the competition’s current format, and they are aiming for their fourth consecutive title this season. Barcelona were other side to win it in this period, emerging victorious in the 2014/15 season
It has been a similar story in the Europa League. Sevilla were three time winners between 2014 and 2016, becoming the first team to win the competition on three consecutive occasions. Last year Atletico Madrid won the title, with Manchester United picking up the trophy in the 2016/2017 season.
Although LaLiga is not considered as strong or competitive as the Premier League, there is little doubting that it is home to the best players in the world. A player from a Spanish club has won the Ballon d’Or in each of the last ten years.
Lionel Messi has claimed the award five times, while Cristiano Ronaldo has won it on four occasions, with Luka Modric claiming the prize in 2018.
A study by the International Centre for Sports Studieshas recently ranked the 100 most valuable footballers in the world, based on age, position, and club and national team results. Here are the ten most valuable players in LaLiga according to CIES.
#10 Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid)- £70.5 million
Lemar has only spent six months in Spain, having made the big money move from Monaco in the summer. He was the latest in a long line of players coming off the production line at the French club, following the likes of Bernardo Silva, Kylian Mbappe and Tiemoue Bakayoko. The move followed months of Lemar being linked with a host of top clubs, including Liverpool and Arsenal.
The World Cup winner has yet to really hit top form this season, and it looks like he is taking time to adapt to LaLiga. He is still a quality player, however, and proved this on a number of occasions while on the books of Monaco. His performances during the 2016/17 season proved this, as Monaco won the Ligue 1 title and reached the Champions League semi-final. During the campaign, he scored 14 goals and provided 17 assists.
#9 Goncalo Guedes (Valencia)- £72.3 million
Guedes is another man who made the move to LaLiga this summer from France. Guedes was at least moving to familiar territory, having the spent the previous season on loan at Valencia with PSG. However, a permanent move was always on the cards, as Guedes would have had to earn a place in a PSG side that has an embarrassment of riches available to them going forward, including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.
Guedes played a part in the Portugal side at the World Cup in Russia, partnering Cristiano Ronaldo up front. He has struggled to make an impact since making his return to Valencia, and is yet to find the net in LaLiga this season, while providing just a single assist. Last season he scored five goals and registered nine assists. He is still 22 though, so will get better in the coming years.
#8 Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona)- £75.8 million
Umtiti is the second most valuable defender on the most recent CIES list, behind only Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk. The Frenchman’s stock has grown exponentially over the last few years, and since his move to Barcelona from Lyon in 2016, he has become one of the top defenders in the world. With Gerard Pique seemingly on the decline, Umtiti is now Barca’s best defender, and he is crucial to the side.
The 25-year-old looks to be at his best this season, and has built on winning the World Cup for his country in the summer. He is someone who fits the way Barcelona play as well. He is excellent defensively, strong in the tackle, reads the game well, but he is also more than capable of playing out of defence and starting attacks.
#7 Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid)- £81.4 million
Saul is one of a number of excellent young players who have come through Atletico Madrid’s academy in recent years. While many have moved on to bigger, and perhaps better, things, Saul has pledged his future to the club by signing a long term contract that runs out in 2026.
The Spanish midfielder broke onto the scene in 2016, scoring a brilliant individual goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final, as Atletico progressed, only to lose in the final to their city rivals Real Madrid. He has also begun to make a mark in the Spanish national side under new manager Luis Enrique, and started, and scored in, wins over England and Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.
#6 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)- £88.4 million
Ter Stegen is the third most valuable goalkeeper in the world, behind only Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, and Manchester City’s Ederson. The German was made to wait for the number one spot at Barcelona, after joining the club at the same time as Chilean Claudio Bravo. Initially, Bravo was the league keeper, and ter Stegen was selected only in cup games.
Ter Stegen is now the undisputed number one at the Camp Nou though, and has taken his game to the next level. He has become a world class sweeper keeper, with his ability to play the ball out from the back as well as being an excellent shot stopper. He is still behind Manuel Neuer in the pecking order for Germany, but it can only be a matter of time before he moves ahead of the Bayern Munich ‘keeper.
#5 Luis Suarez (Barcelona)- £98.6 million
Suarez has been one of the top strikers in the world for a number of years now. After starting out in European football at Ajax, the Uruguayan forward really came to the fore during his time with Liverpool, and has taken his game to the next level since joining Barcelona in 2014. At 31, he may not have the pace he once did, but he is still as effective as ever.
Of course, one thing that will always go against Suarez is his controversial history, including his three biting incidents, most notably at the World Cup when he bit Giorgio Chiellini. His goal record is superb though. In his 147 LaLiga games with Barcelona, he has scored a remarkable 122 goals, helping his side win three LaLiga titles, as well as the Champions League in the 2014/15 season.
#4 Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)- £108.5 million
Dembele is the second most expensive signing in Barcelona’s history, having made the move to the Camp Nou in 2017 in a deal that could rise to £135 million. It was an astonishing fee for someone so young, but Dembele has the potential to go all the way to the top. He has never really hit top form at Barcelona though, and questions have been asked about his desire to reach the top of his game.
There have been flashes of brilliance from the Frenchman though, including most recently against Tottenham in the Champions League, when he ran from inside his own half to score. He is still only 21, so he has a lot to learn and there could still be a big improvement in his game. He is at the right club to do that, as Barca play a style of play that will suit him.
#3 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)- £140 million
The most valuable player in LaLiga who doesn’t play for Barcelona. Griezmann has become one of the finest players in Europe since his move to Atletico in 2014 from fellow Spanish club Real Sociedad. His quality is shown by the fact that he has been one of Barcelona’s top targets in the last couple of transfer windows.
For someone who doesn’t play as a traditional number nine, his goalscoring record is an excellent one. Since moving to Madrid, he has scored 87 goals in just 161 LaLiga games. He has also enjoyed great success internationally, and played a big role in France’s World Cup triumph in the summer, including scoring the second goal in the final.
#2 Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)- £141.6 million
Coutinho is the most expensive player in the history of Spanish football, having made the move to Barcelona a year ago in a move worth around £140 million from Liverpool. Things haven’t really worked out as he would have hoped though, and there are questions being asked about his future, including rumoursthat he could make a sensational move to Manchester United this month.
He has started just nine league games for Barcelona this season, and his last goal came in the 5-1 hammering of rivals Real Madrid in October. It had been hoped that he would act as a replacement for Andres Iniesta who left the club for Japan, but things haven’t really worked out that way. It could be that the Brazilian’s Barcelona dream could be coming to an end.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)- £154.4 million
It’s no surprise that Lionel Messi tops this list. The greatest player in the world, and perhaps the greatest player of all time as well. Even at 31, he is as good a player as he always was, and week in, week out, we see him run the show for Barcelona. The Argentinian superstar has five Ballon d’Ors to name, no one else has more, and only Cristiano Ronaldo has won as many.
His skills on the ball are simply mesmerising, and he has an ability to make even the toughest pass look simple. He holds a remarkable list of records, including the most goals in LaLiga, the most club goals in a season in Europe, the most goals in a calendar year, and the most hat tricks in the Champions League. He also has a long list of honours won with his club, including nine LaLigas, and four Champions League titles.
