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Club football is no longer just a recreational way of life, it is very much a full-fledged business and has been for a few years now. Like in other businesses, football too has assets - players being among the most valuable ones. Since top football clubs generate massive amounts of revenue and the top players usually play for these top clubs, it's only natural that the best footballers in the world are worth a lot.
A player's market value is essentially how much it could cost for a club to purchase that particular player. Several factors influence a player's market value, some of them being the player's age, the player's quality and the remaining length on the player's current contract.
Another significant factor capable of influencing a player's market value is the current state of the market itself. For example, player values shot up meteorically following Neymar's world-record move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017 for a fee of €222 million.
That single transfer caused a comprehensive domino effect, thereby inflating the market tremendously, as players started costing record values thereafter. Notably, of the 40 highest player market values ever recorded, 39 of them have been set after the Neymar-caused domino effect in 2017.
The other one? Cristiano Ronaldo - who set his highest market value of €120 million back in 2014 - and he doesn't even feature in the top 10 (although he was worth €120 million again in 2018).
On the other hand, the ongoing pandemic has resulted in severe financial losses for most clubs, thereby deflating the market and forcing player values to fall dramatically.
Without further ado and geeksplaining, here is a look at:
10 players who have set the highest market values in football history
(as per data from Transfermarkt):
#10 Philippe Coutinho - €150 million
Highest market value ever: €150 million
Date when recorded: 31/10/2018
Current market value: €50 million
Philippe Coutinho moved from Liverpool to Barcelona in January 2018 for a reported fee of €145 million including add-ons. At the time, however, his market value was estimated to be €90 million.
He started well at Barcelona, scoring 10 goals in just 22 matches in all competitions by the end of the 2017-18 season. As a result of his performances in the 2018 calendar year, Coutinho set his highest ever market value of €150 million in December 2018.
Since then, Coutinho has relatively struggled and his market value has declined consistently, despite a successful season-long loan spell at Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 season when he helped them win the European treble.
Having returned to Barcelona ahead of the ongoing 2020-21 season, the 28-year-old has only made 14 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions this season, and his market value is currently worth €50 million.
#9 Kevin De Bruyne - €150 million
Highest market value ever: €150 million
Date when recorded: 28/05/2018
Current market value: €120 million
Arguably one of the greatest midfielders in world football at the moment, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is unsurprisingly worth more than €100 million with his current market value estimated to be worth €120 million.
The 29-year-old's highest ever market value (€150 million) was first set in May 2018. His value was estimated to be the same at the end of 2018 and at the end of 2019, over which period Manchester City won the domestic treble (the Premier League, the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup).
Over the course of 2020, his value dropped to €120 million, which is expected to have been more a result of the pandemic and its consequences, and less because of his own form and ability, which continue to be exceptional.
It could also be a result of him being closer to the end of his contract than he previously was.
#8 Antoine Griezmann - €150 million
Highest market value ever: €150 million
Date when recorded: 31/10/2018
Current market value: €60 million
Since his move to Barcelona, Antoine Griezmann has seemed like a pale shadow of his former self at Atletico Madrid and his market value reflects the same. Griezmann set his highest ever market value of €150 million towards the end of 2018 while playing for Atletico Madrid.
He moved to Barcelona in July 2019 on a five-year deal, but has visibly struggled to find his feet. Griezmann has only scored 24 goals from 72 matches in all competitions for the Catalan club. For context, in his five seasons at Atletico Madrid, he scored 25 goals or more in a single season four times.
Griezmann's struggles at Barcelona has seen his market value drop steeply as the 29-year-old is currently estimated to be worth just €60 million.
#7 Harry Kane - €150 million
Highest market value ever: €150 million
Date when recorded: 28/05/2018
Current market value: €120 million
Harry Kane has consistently been one of the most valuable players in the world for more than two years now. One of the best forwards at the moment, the Tottenham Hotspur star set his highest market value of €150 million in May 2018 and went on to retain that value until the end of 2019.
The first quarter of 2020 saw the 27-year-old's market value drop to €120 million - quite possibly because of the pandemic - which has remained his value till date. In the ongoing 2020-21 season, Harry Kane has been lethal when it comes to creating and scoring chances, scoring 19 goals and assisting 14 more in just 27 matches across competitions.
#6 Mohamed Salah - €150 million
Highest market value ever: €150 million
Date when recorded: 28/05/2018
Current market value: €120 million
Mohamed Salah moved to Liverpool in June 2017 for a reported fee of €42 million. At the time, his market value was estimated to be €35 million. In his very first season at Liverpool, Salah registered 44 goals and 16 assists from 52 matches in all competitions. As a result, his market value had increased meteorically to €150 million by May 2018 - less than a year later.
Currently playing his 4th season for Liverpool, the 28-year-old has already scored 111 goals for the club, helping them lift a UEFA Champions League trophy as well as the Premier League trophy last season. Salah remains one of the most valuable players in the world but due to a deflated market, coupled with the fact that his current contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023, his market value at the moment is estimated to be €120 million.
#5 Sadio Mane - €150 million
Highest market value ever: €150 million
Date when recorded: 10/12/2019
Current market value: €120 million
Liverpool's other wrecking ball in attack, Sadio Mane, 28, has also quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world. As he has steadily improved as a player over the years, his market value has increased correspondingly.
By the end of 2019, owing to Mane's contribution to Liverpool's UEFA Champions League victory and their bustling start to the 2019-20 Premier League season, his market value had climbed to its zenith of €150 million.
However, as is the case with others on this list, 2020 forced a decrease in Mane's market value as well, bringing it down to its current value of €120 million. Like Mohamed Salah, Mane's current contract is also due to expire in June 2023.
#4 Raheem Sterling - €160 million
Highest market value ever: €160 million
Date when recorded: 10/12/2019
Current market value: €110 million
Manchester City won a domestic double (the Premier League and the Carabao Cup) in the 2017-18 season and then a domestic treble (the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup) in the 2018-19 season. A lot of Manchester City's success in recent years has had to do with Raheem Sterling.
The 26-year-old scored 23 goals and 25 goals across all competitions in the aforementioned seasons, respectively and topped it off with 31 goals in all competitions in the 2019-20 season.
In October 2017, Sterling's market value was just €50 million but shot up to the €160 million mark by December 2019. In the ongoing season, Sterling has seemingly had a drop in form, scoring only 8 goals in 25 matches for Manchester City thus far.
The pandemic's influence in 2020 combined with the drop in Sterling's form and one lesser year on his contract (expiring June 2023) caused his market value drop to €110 million in December 2020.
#3 Lionel Messi - €180 million
Highest market value ever: €180 million
Date when recorded: 01/01/2018
Current market value: €80 million
By far one of the best players to have ever graced the sport, Lionel Messi recorded his highest ever market value (€180 million) in January 2018 - shortly after Neymar's transfer inflated the market.
Since then, however, Messi's market value has steadily declined - which is predominantly because of his age and the fact that he hasn't signed a new contract at Barcelona, as the 33-year-old looks set to leave the club for free this summer.
With just over 5 months left on his contract, Messi's market value is currently estimated to be just €80 million and will continue to decrease as the time on his contract runs out.
#2 Neymar - €180 million
Highest market value ever: €180 million
Date when recorded: 24/01/2018
Current market value: €128 million
When Neymar completed his world-record move worth €222 million from La Liga giants Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017, his market value was only estimated to be around the €100 million mark.
The subsequent market inflation affected Neymar's market value as well, as it shot up to the €180 million mark by the end of January 2018 - just 6 months later.
Since then, the 28-year-old has accrued staggering tallies of 80 goals and 46 assists in just 99 matches across competitions for PSG. Widely hailed as one of the best players in the world at the moment, Neymar is yet to sign a contract extension at PSG (it is set to expire next summer). As a result, his market value is currently estimated to be worth €128 million.
#1 Kylian Mbappe - €200 million
Highest market value ever: €200 million
Date when recorded: 17/12/2018
Current market value: €180 million
It's not often that a 22-year-old is globally regarded as one of the best, but then again, Kylian Mbappe is no normal player. For context, consider this: Only Ronaldo Nazario had scored more goals at the age of 21 than Kylian Mbappe had. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hadn't even scored half as many at that age.
Mbappe first joined Paris Saint-Germain on loan from Monaco in August 2017, before it became a permanent deal believed to be worth €145 million excluding add-ons - making him the most expensive teenager ever and the second-most expensive player ever after Neymar. In August 2017, Mbappe's market value was estimated to be around €75 million.
Within 16 months, by the end of December 2018, his market value had leaped to the €200 million mark, making him the first and only player till date to be worth that much.
Since his arrival at PSG, Mbappe has registered breathtaking tallies of 131 goals and 75 assists in 207 matches across competitions. In fact, he is already the fourth-highest goal-scorer in the club's history and has helped them win 9 major trophies including 3 consecutive Ligue 1 titles.
Mbappe is yet to sign a new contract at PSG and despite his current one expiring next summer, he is estimated to be worth €180 million at the moment, due to his age and exploits.
