In an open market: 5 most valuable players in the world?

[Fortitude]

Quite fascinated by what I think are unrealistic valuations of players in the transfer forum. And by unrealistic, it seems like some players who I think will cost an absolute fortune are being undercut by 10's of millions. We're not in the realm of Neymar or Mbappe transfer fees, and I think everyone can agree that only Mbappe could break the £200m mark as a saleable asset? I am more intrigued by what people believe follows in behind him, and for how much? This is in an open market, so any player deemed 'untouchable' or 'un-transferable' should be factored in to lists.

I have it as:

1. Mbappe £200m. By far and away the most expensive player on the planet now that all of the old big dogs have had their time.

2. Haaland £170m+. Arbitrary numbers - just anything above anyone else but less than Mbappe suffices.

3. Kvaratskhelia c. £150m. Nobody is wrangling a good deal out of Napoli and he is their prized asset. At only 22 years of age, he falls in line with the profile that has nothing but upswing to it and the dreaded 'potential' which is a saleable factor all by itself before skills even enter the fray.

4. Osimhen £130m+. Again, Napoli, but also the paucity of upcoming centre-forwards of any top quality repute drives the prices upward. May well be the most coveted striker on the planet given he's not at an oil club and therefore has a price, so long as a club is willing to meet it.

5. Vinicius & Pedri £???. Probably undercut both as you're realistically slotting them inbetween Mbappe and the rest as truly 'unsaleable' assets to both clubs, so much so that valuations for them don't even get off the ground.

Should be noted that the age profile is 24 at max; not sure anyone older gets a sniff? I suppose if you remove the players who are 'un-transferable' you get a better thread, but I am interested in hearing what the general scaling people have is for this.

Out of interest, if 1. 2. and 5. are removed and replaced with the Rashford's, Bellingham's etc. what kind of list is generated?

 

[Acrobat7]

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spieler-statistik/wertvollstespieler/marktwertetop

 

[Strootman's Finger]

Well Pedri won't be under contract come the summer, so not sure how expensive he'll be

 

[Josh 76]

Imagine a front 3 of
Mbappe, Haaland, Kavaratskhelia

 

[awop]

Imagine a front 3 of
Mbappe, Haaland, Kavaratskhelia

They will look great in white in 2025

 

[harms]

The gap between Mbappé & Håland and the rest is going to be much bigger than 20 mil. I love Kvara as much as the next guy but he's only having his break-through season now, at the age of 22. He's incomparable at the moment as a potential asset to the likes of Mbappé (World Champion at 18) & Håland (who broke probably every age-restricted goalscoring record possible) — you sign them and you're guaranteed success for the next decade or more.

There isn't any other player in the world at the moment who can give you that. Rashford, I'd imagine, is in the second tier, considering his current form, still relatively young age, media profile and, well, the club that he's representing — United will ask for an astronomical sum if someone was to come for him. I'm not sure if clubs would be willing to pay for Khvicha 150 millions this summer... although I may be proven wrong seeing the fees for Felix, Fernández & Núñez after one (and in Enzo's case, even less than that) extraordinary season. Pedri is going to cost something similar unless Barça suddenly gets dissipated... which is not a completely unrealistic scenario, weirdly enough — he's a genuine all-time great talent in his position and I can count on one hand midfielders who performed as he did at the mere age of 17-18. Same with Vinícius, who is the face of the new Madrid generation, as well as one of the best players in the world already. Not sure about Foden — his role in that City team became less important recently and with Håland's arrival he's not their Golden Boy anymore (although having a home-grown talent of his calibre still puts a huge tax on him). Osimhen and Bellingham would be at the bottom of this short-list, I'd imagine.

 

[harms]

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spieler-statistik/wertvollstespieler/marktwertetop

Completely forgot about Musiala!

 

[Pexbo]

Honestly I’d have Haaland above Mbappe.

Mbappe is clearly a more talented footballer but Haaland is just a goal scoring freak of nature and goals are the most valuable asset in football. Nobody else in the world can do what Haaland does.

 

[Mogget]

Honestly I’d have Haaland above Mbappe.

Mbappe is clearly a more talented footballer but Haaland is just a goal scoring freak of nature and goals are the most valuable asset in football. Nobody else in the world can do what Haaland does.

Can anyone else do what Mbappe can do?

 

[mu4c_20le]

Honestly I’d have Haaland above Mbappe.

Mbappe is clearly a more talented footballer but Haaland is just a goal scoring freak of nature and goals are the most valuable asset in football. Nobody else in the world can do what Haaland does.

You act like Mbappe doesn't score goals. Even if he only scores 80% of his goals, he's still a much more complete playher.

 

[Oly Francis]

You act like Mbappe doesn't score goals. Even if he only scores 80% of his goals, he's still a much more complete playher.

Also, Mbappé currently plays in a terrible, terrible PSG team.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Honestly I’d have Haaland above Mbappe.

Mbappe is clearly a more talented footballer but Haaland is just a goal scoring freak of nature and goals are the most valuable asset in football. Nobody else in the world can do what Haaland does.

Score goals?

Kane has 21 goals this season playing for a team who sit back for most of the game.

It wouldn't be outlandish to think Kane would be on the same amount of goals as Haaland playing for City.

 

[zaafi]

Can anyone else do what Mbappe can do?

Let's put it like this. I think there's players out there closer to do what Mbappé can do than there are other players closer to what Haaland can do, if that makes sense. We have Rashford on the left, and although his numbers are not similar to Mbappé, he is not far off this season, both in goal scoring and assisting, playing in a much stronger league with more balanced competition compared to PSG and the teams in Ligue 1. Rashford is, similarly to Mbappé, able to dribble past half of the opponent's team, just not as consistently.
Haaland, on the other hand, is outscoring the amount of games he has for every single team he's played for.

 

[Pexbo]

Can anyone else do what Mbappe can do?

Put Rashford in Ligue 1 and in that French team and you’d have a similar result.

You act like Mbappe doesn't score goals. Even if he only scores 80% of his goals, he's still a much more complete playher.

I’m not acting like he doesn’t score goals at all. I’ve got him on my list of most valuable players just behind Haaland.

Also, Mbappé currently plays in a terrible, terrible PSG team.

In a terrible terrible league.

Score goals?

Kane has 21 goals this season playing for a team who sit back for most of the game.

It wouldn't be outlandish to think Kane would be on the same amount of goals as Haaland playing for City.

Yet he doesn’t and hasn’t.

 

[DWelbz19]

Saka’s 6 months younger, identical domestic stats (in the PL), and is English. He’s worth more than Kvara in an ‘open market’, I’d say

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Yet he doesn’t and hasn’t.

And prior to moving to City, Haaland didn't and hadn't.....

 

[Son]

1. Mbappe
2. Haaland
3. Saka
4. Vinicius
5. Rashford

Pedri, Musiala, Bellingham, Gavi, Osimhen… Below those top 2 it’s anyones guess. Depends on what clubs are willing to pay.

 

[slored1]

Musiala
Mbappe
Kvaratskhelia
Saka
Haaland

For me pretty obvious at the moment.

 

[Andy_Cole]

Haaland
Mbappe
Rashford
Saka
Osimhen

 

[Pexbo]

And prior to moving to City, Haaland didn't and hadn't.....

Before joining City Haaland had 23 goals in 20 Champions League appearances. That’s four less games than Kane took to score 20.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Before joining City Haaland had 23 goals in 20 Champions League appearances. That’s four less games than Kane took to score 20.

Ok.....Good for him.

He's a goalscorer, I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm disagreeing with your nonsensical comment that ' nobody else in the world can do what Haaland does'

 

[Tom Cato]

Score goals?

Kane has 21 goals this season playing for a team who sit back for most of the game.

It wouldn't be outlandish to think Kane would be on the same amount of goals as Haaland playing for City.

Considering just how much of an outlier Haalands scoring is compared to the entire rest of the football world, surely this is akin to saying "Any elite striker could do the same for City", no?

 

[Pexbo]

Ok.....Good for him.

He's a goalscorer, I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm disagreeing with your nonsensical comment that ' nobody else in the world can do what Haaland does'

Can you point me in the direction of another player who can currently score goals at the rate he has since he arrived as an 18 year old?

I’m not arguing anything profound here, that’s it. That’s the argument.

 

[simplyared]

Mbappe
Haaland
Vinicius
Go without saying.
I'd put Foden in there then Rashford or Saka

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Considering just how much of an outlier Haalands scoring is compared to the entire rest of the football world, surely this is akin to saying "Any elite striker could do the same for City", no?

Well, lets look at Sterling. Scored a lot of goals, especially for a winger, at his time at City. Yes, he's had a few injuries at Chelsea and his season has been very much stop start, but I doubt he'd have scored as many as he did even if he was fit. Therefore, my point, as already explained is, it's not outlandish to think Kane, or any other elite striker, as you put it, would replicate similar numbers.

 

[Dumbstar]

Rashford and Saka.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Mbappe
Haaland
Vinicius
Go without saying.
I'd put Foden in there then Rashford or Saka

I think I'd have Saka ahead of Vini. He's a 150m player now, and can play multiple positions.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Rashford and Saka.

Currently? No brainer!

Who would you put over them, other than Haaland and Mbappe, and pptentially Osihmen?

 

[adexkola]

Well, lets look at Sterling. Scored a lot of goals, especially for a winger, at his time at City. Yes, he's had a few injuries at Chelsea and his season has been very much stop start, but I doubt he'd have scored as many as he did even if he was fit. Therefore, my point, as already explained is, it's not outlandish to think Kane, or any other elite striker, as you put it, would replicate similar numbers.

Your post should have ended here honestly.

Also you didn't note that sterling's production dropped in his last 2 years at City, so what we are seeing in Chelsea is more continuation of recent form than "return to the mean"

 

[RVN1991]

Mbappe
Halaand
Pedri
Kvara
Musiala/Vinicius

 

[bosnian_red]

Is this player value with no club and country bias and no contract status influence (aka some clubs have more power to hold, some nationalities are just viewed as more valuable, contract status can reduce price)? Just pure what players should be the most valuable based on ability, potential and age? For me I'd say:

1. Mbappe
2. Haaland
3. Vinicius Jr
4. Pedri
5. Musiala
6. Osimhen
7. Kvaratshkelia
8. Saka
9. Gavi
10. Bellingham

Top 10 for me.

Edit: forgot Odegaard. Gotta fit him in somewhere. Probably below Saka.

 

[Zehner]

Quite obviously, Florian Wirtz should top that list.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Your post should have ended here honestly.

Also you didn't note that sterling's production dropped in his last 2 years at City, so what we are seeing in Chelsea is more continuation of recent form than "return to the mean"

So we're going to disregard the amount of goals he scored prior to that?

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Can you point me in the direction of another player who can currently score goals at the rate he has since he arrived as an 18 year old?

I’m not arguing anything profound here, that’s it. That’s the argument.

Fair play for moving the goalposts.

As I said, I don't disagree that he's a goal machine, but I believe we could get someone who could score a similar amount and provide so much more on the ball.

Actually, I'd be willing to sacrifice a few goals for general play, because if you ask me, City aren't the same team they've been in previous seasons. Despite scoring all those goals, City current sit second in the league, 9 points worse off than last season.

 

[adexkola]

So we're going to disregard the amount of goals he scored prior to that?

Not disregarding that. If he had scored 40 goals in his last season at City you'd have a point. He scored... 17 goals in his last season at City in 30 appearances. In 19 appearances for Chelsea he scored 7 goals (in a season blighted by injuries as you've mentioned), but extrapolating that across 30 appearances you get 11 goals. Is a 6 goal difference enough to say Sterling is team dependent?

 

[Red the Bear]

Your evaluations are pretty much perfect in my opinion so not much to add there .

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Not disregarding that. If he had scored 40 goals in his last season at City you'd have a point. He scored... 17 goals in his last season at City in 30 appearances. In 19 appearances for Chelsea he scored 7 goals (in a season blighted by injuries as you've mentioned), but extrapolating that across 30 appearances you get 11 goals. Is a 6 goal difference enough to say Sterling is team dependent?

That's nearly how many goals (7) Kane is behind Haaland, so maybe it is.....

 

[Jam]

Well Pedri won't be under contract come the summer, so not sure how expensive he'll be

This stuff always shocks me, like there’s a select group of players where remaining contract length doesn’t even matter. Most players with 6 months left will get loads of rumours and articles about them.

Yet a player like Pedri? You know he’s going to re-sign with Barce. Bet it happened loads with the class of 92. Giggs has a month left of his contract? Not a problem, he’s still under contract so guess we’ll speak to him when he’s due to re-sign.

 

[IrishMcD]

Sean Longstaff

 

[altodevil]

Gavi/Pedri over anyone not named Mbappe