Top 5 most valuable players in the world

In football, forwards have usually been the more admired players. And this predilection is well understood as on most occasions, it's the forwards who have gone on to win individual accolades like the prestigious Ballon d’Or. More often than not, teams have been built around a star forward to bring the best out of him.

Over the past decade, we have seen two certain forwards dominate the game like never before, namely Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The two have gone on to win the Ballon d'Or a staggering five times each. They have been a delight to watch on the football field and have come up with numerous match-winning performances. Over the years, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been so dependent on Ronaldo and Messi, respectively, that the two teams have been specially engineered to facilitate their footballing genius. They have also had a say in the transfer aspect of their respective clubs and, in some cases, have even convinced their clubs to sign players of their preference.

The utter importance of superstar goalscorers is clearly reflected on this list of top 5 most valuable players based on market value as it exclusively consists of attacking players.

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Kane captained the England National side in the 2018 World Cup.

#5 Harry Kane (150 mil euros)

Position: Centre-forward

Surprise! I bet you didn't expect Kane to be at number 5 over the likes of giants like Ronaldo and Griezmann! The Tottenham striker has seen a big leap in his market value after a string of stellar performances for Spurs over the last four domestic seasons and for his exploits in the England national side, most notably, at the World Cup where he scored six goals to win the Golden Boot.

Well, Kane is the kind of striker known for scoring a lot of goals. He may not be a creator but he does get on the end of passes and is very good at finishing chances with both his feet and head. Last season in the Premier League, the Spurs talisman scored a total of 29 goals from 36 matches. Also, he created 29 chances, had a shot accuracy of 57% and made 70% successful passes.

The England captain still has a long way to go in order to become a legend of the game but is certainly taking steps in the right direction. It will be interesting to see how much longer he will stay at Tottenham as many big clubs are trying to poach him.

Salah has adapted well to EPL in his first season for Liverpool.

#4 Mohamed Salah (150 mil euros)

Position: Right Winger

No way words can truly describe how good the Egyptian is; the reason 'Salah' has been the name on the lips of every Liverpool fan since past several months. He had a phenomenal 2017-18 season with Liverpool, taking them to the Champions League final, and is one of the strong contenders for the Ballon d’Or this time.

The kind of season Salah had is one that every footballer dreams of. In EPL, the Egyptian King scored a total of 32 goals in 36 matches, also having created 59 chances. He had a shot accuracy of 61% and pass accuracy of 77%. He is one of the most dangerous players on the counter attack and that’s what makes him a very special player.

After having a poor World Cup, there has been a slight dip in Salah's market value but, nevertheless, he has all the capabilities to bounce back from this as soon as he get on the pitch. If Salah can perform the way he did last season, there is no stopping him from becoming the best player in the world.. Watch out Messi and Ronaldo!

Mbappe is already one of the best players in the world at the age of 19.

#3 Kylian Mbappe (150 mil euros)

Position: Right Winger

Mbappe is just 19 years old and has already been compared to some of the greatest players to have ever played the game including Pele.

Having completed a move to PSG last season, Mbappe has been overshadowed by the presence of Neymar in the same team. He had a decent first season with PSG in 2017-18. Having started in only 24 games, the France No.10 scored a total of 13 goals and created 45 chances. He had a shot accuracy of 52% and pass accuracy of 83%.

Yet, because he shone in a victorious World Cup campaign where Neymar performed well below expectations, Mbappe can surely become PSG’s main man this season despite his young age. Recently, he had been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid but now reports suggest that he will stay at PSG at least for this season.

If Mbappe can live up to the hype, he can undoubtedly become one of the greatest players in football history. One can only hope that a player as talented as him grows gracefully into a world-renowned phenomenon winning accolades on his way to super stardom.

Messi is the joint most valuable player in the world even at the age of 31.

#2 Lionel Messi (180 mil euros)

Position: Second Striker

Well, no surprises here. Arguably the best player to have ever played football, Lionel Messi jointly tops the chart with a market value of 180 mil euros. The footballing legend has won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions and looks poised to add to his collection.

In 32 La Liga matches, Messi scored 29 goals last season. He, probably, has the best stats on this list, having created 77 chances and scoring the joint highest goals. In 2017-18, he had a shot accuracy of 62% and pass accuracy of 81%.

While Messi’s critics criticize him for not having won the World Cup, there is no denying that he is a legend of the game and, even post his prime days, continues to be the joint most valuable player in the world.

Neymar is considered to be on the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

#1 Neymar (180 mil euros)

Position: Left Winger

Neymar completed a world record move to PSG from Barcelona last year but since then, he has had some hiccups backing up his humongous price tag. In the mean time, instead, he has become the butt of social media memes for the unethical act of diving.

If we look at the Brazilian’s stats, they are nothing short of extraordinary. He has scored a total of 20 goals in 20 matches for PSG in the French league, also having conjured 71 chances for his teammates. Moreover, he has had a shot accuracy of 63% and 79% of his passes have met the target. The PSG star's strength lies in his dribbling as he is considered one of the best dribblers in the world.

Whilst Neymar may not have been able to take Brazil to World Cup glory, there is no taking away from him the fact that he continues to be the most valuable player in the world along with Messi. He was indeed a little unlucky to have missed out on the 10-man shortlist for the FIFA Best Player Award.