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2020 turned out to be much more of a bane than a boon for most footballers. Despite some excelling during the year, it is safe to say that others truly struggled to cope because of a variety of factors.
Fixture congestion, fitness levels, constant rescheduling, fatigue, overwhelming pressure to perform and the general fear of a pandemic made it challenging for even world-class players to stand up and deliver consistently in 2020.
Expectedly, that resulted in their market values dropping significantly. While several players saw their market values increase, many others saw their market values dip.
A player's market value is usually influenced by a bevy of factors such as skill, performance, age, duration of their contract, form and market conditions in general. Of course, it must be remembered that the pandemic would also have influenced the market, and subsequently, the market values of players.
In this listicle, we take a look at the top ten players whose market values decreased the most in 2020, as per Transfermarkt. Without further ado, let's begin.
#10 Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) - ↓€35M
Market value at the start of 2020: €70M
Market value at the end of 2020: €35M
Decrease: ↓€35M.
Alexandre Lacazette's drop in form has been reflected in Arsenal's struggles in recent times.
Since the appointment of current manager Mikel Arteta in December 2019, the club simply hasn't been able to get a move in terms of their performances. The Gunners finished the 2019-20 season in eighth place in the Premier League table, with their FA Cup victory coming as a consolation.
Correspondingly, 29-year-old Lacazette has also seemingly struggled to find consistency. In 2020, the French striker made 41 appearances for Arsenal but only managed to score 12 goals and assist six - figures simply not good enough at a club that usually aspires to finish in the Premier League's top four.
Additionally, in the entire 2019-20 season, Lacazette only scored 12 goals - the fewest goals he has scored in a season since 2012-13. He ended December 2020 on a positive note, but his market value still took a significant hit in 2020.
Lacazette's current contract expires in June 2022
#9 Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - ↓€35M
Market value at the start of 2020: €100M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €65M.
Decrease: ↓€35M.
In August 2019, Paul Pogba suffered an ankle injury that recurred twice, leading the player to miss a majority of the 2019-20 season.
The Manchester United star subsequently underwent surgery in January 2020 but was unable to return to action until football restarted in June following the COVID019-enforced break.
The ongoing 2020-21 season has seen Pogba being used in a reduced capacity, as the 27-year-old has only played nine full matches in all competitions. Injuries aside, inconsistency has also plagued the France international.
Pogba is yet to sign a new contract with the Red Devils, while his current contract expires in June 2022. Correspondingly, his market value dropped by €35M during the last year.
#8 N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) - ↓€40M
Market value at the start of 2020: €100M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €60M.
Decrease: ↓€40M.
Chelsea's ever-smiling and usually reliable bulwark in midfield, N'Golo Kante suffered a torrid and injury-hit 2019-20 season. He only made 28 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions in the entire campaign, which is nearly half the number of matches he played in the season before that.
In the ongoing 2020-21 season, the 29-year-old has been used extensively in the Premier League, starting each one of Chelsea's league matches. However, he has been used sparingly in the UEFA Champions League.
Despite there being more than two years left in his current contract (which expires in June 2023), Kante's time out of the game owing to injury has seen his market value drop by €40M in 2020.
#7 Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) - ↓€40M
Market value at the start of 2020: €120M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €80M.
Decrease: ↓€40M.
Antoine Griezmann completed a move to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid ahead of the 2019-20 season after his €120M release clause was paid by the Catalan club. Since then, it has been evident that the 29-year-old simply hasn't been the same player he was at Atletico.
The French striker has struggled to hit the ground running, as he seemingly struggled during the 2019-20 season. By the start of 2020, Griezmann had played 23 matches in all competitions for the Blaugrana, scoring eight goals and assisting four. His market value at the time was estimated to be €120M.
However, in 2020, he made 44 appearances in all competitions, scoring just 12 goals and assisting two. In his one-and-a-half seasons at Barcelona, he has scored 20 goals - fewer than he managed in a single season at Atletico.
Understandably, his market value fell by one-third in 2020, with Griezmann ending the year at an estimated value of €80M.
#6 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - ↓€40M
Market value at the start of 2020: €140M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €100M.
Decrease: ↓€40M.
The 2019-20 season saw Lionel Messi score 31 goals in all competitions - the fewest he has scored in a single season since the 2007-08 campaign. He did assist 27 times though, taking his total goal involvements to 58 in 44 matches for Barcelona in all competitions.
While that number is genuinely impressive for most footballers, it does indicate a decline in Messi's form, something that has been exacerbated by Barcelona's struggles on and off the pitch.
In 2020, Messi played 44 matches, scoring 26 goals and assisting 23 more. Despite his decent stats for the year, his market value dropped by €40M.
However, there are other fundamental reasons that contributed to the decrease in his market value such as his age (33) and his current contract situation: Messi's contract expires in less than six months from now, after which he will become a free agent.
#5 Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) - ↓€45M
Market value at the start of 2020: €60M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €15M.
Decrease: ↓€45M.
At the start of 2020, Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's market value was estimated to be €60M. However, the inconsistency in his performances quickly made him out of favour with the Blues, and Willy Caballero was preferred in goal.
Between January and the end of the season in July, Kepa Arrizabalaga only played 14 matches in all competitions for the Blues. In September, the arrival of Edouard Mendy forced the Spaniard further down the club's pecking order.
In 2020, the 26-year-old shot-stopper only played 18 matches in all competitions and was left to warm the bench more often than not. As a direct consequence of being frozen out, his market value dropped steeply during the year.
#4 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - ↓€50M
Market value at the start of 2020: €160M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €110M.
Decrease: ↓€50M.
Raheem Sterling began the year with an estimated market value of €160M but endured a relatively quiet year by his usual standards.
In 2020, the 26-year-old played 46 matches in all competitions for Manchester City, scoring 17 goals and assisting 12.
While those aren't necessarily bad numbers, they aren't as good as are expected from the England international. For context, Sterling has scored more than 23 goals in each of his last three seasons at City.
Another factor that possibly contributed to the decrease in his market value is the fact that his contract was last extended in 2018 and expires in June 2023.
Despite a decrease of €50M, Sterling's market value is still more than €100M.
#3 Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) - ↓€52M
Market value at the start of 2020: €90M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €38M.
Decrease: ↓€52M.
Dele Alli has visibly been declining since 2018. Since the 2018-19 season, the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has failed to hit double figures for goals or assists in a single season.
Jose Mourinho was named the club's manager towards the end of 2019, and he persisted with Dele Alli in the second half of the season until the 24-year-old sustained injuries and began to fall out of favour with the manager.
Since the start of 2020, the English midfielder has appeared in 30 matches across all competitions for Spurs, scoring just four goals and assisting three. Notably, out of the 30 matches, he only played eight full matches.
In the ongoing 2020-21 season, Dele Alli has not played a single full match in any competition. Naturally, his market value has slipped tremendously.
#2 Christian Eriksen (Inter Milan) - ↓€55M
Market value at the start of 2020: €90M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €35M.
Decrease: ↓€55M.
Christian Eriksen started the year with a move from Tottenham Hotspur to Inter Milan on a four-and-a-half-year contract.
Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to find his feet at the Italian club, and it was recently confirmed that he has already been placed on the transfer list for 2021.
His troubled time at Inter has seen him make 39 appearances for the club, scoring just four goals and assisting three.
In 2020, the 28-year-old played 45 matches, scoring four goals and assisting three (he played six matches for Spurs in January 2020, failing to score or assist any) - figures that are frankly underwhelming for a player of his stature and his ability.
His market value reflects the situation astutely, as it decreased by €55M over the course of 2020.
#1 Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) - ↓€60M
Market value at the start of 2020: €120M.
Market value at the end of 2020: €60M.
Decrease: ↓€60M.
Eden Hazard completed his dream move to Real Madrid in June 2019 for a reported fee of €146.1M (including potential add-ons) ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Hazard's dream had come true, but it soon turned sour, as he suffered an injury in late November that kept him out until February 2020. At the end of 2019, his market value was estimated to be €120M.
Since returning in February 2020, the 30-year-old has continually been hindered by various injuries and ailments.
In 2020, he played only 14 matches in all competitions, scoring two goals and assisting three. To make matters worse, none of those 14 games saw him featuring for the entirety of the match.
By the end of 2020, Hazard's market value fell to €60M - half of what it was when the year began.
