A look at ten of the world’s most valuable big-name footballers.
This list takes into account a player’s current market value, future earning potential, sponsorship revenue and long term marketability.
10. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
The Argentine star has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world, having already made two big-money moves in his career so far, at only the age of 24. Aguero first joined Atletico Madrid as a teenager for £19million and his displays in Spain attracted the attention of Manchester City, who then paid £38million for him, making him their record signing. He has gone on to enhance his reputation playing in the Premier League, scoring 23 goals in his first season for the club, including the memorable title-winning goal against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of 2011/12.
He makes nearly £11million a year in wages from his club, with an extra £2.3million from sponsorship deals and endorsements with the likes of Puma. This world star has been linked with Real Madrid in recent months, and few others could afford his transfer fee of what should surely be a £40million, as well as his enormous wages. His ability on the pitch as well as his off-the-pitch marketability and popularity would make him an excellent investment, though City are unlikely to want to let him go.
9. Mario Goetze (Borussia Dortmund)
This exceptionally gifted 20-year-old has risen to world class status in a very short space of time since making his debut for Borussia Dortmund, and has recently become the most expensive German player of all time with a lucrative £31million move to Dortmund’s rivals Bayern Munich. This big-money move to the Bundesliga champions and the country’s most famous football club will surely see Goetze set for stardom for many years to come.
His young age and potential makes him a good investment for the club, and his skillful attacking play will suit the style of football played at the Allianz Arena, which will also surely improve under incoming manager Pep Guardiola, who turned Barcelona into a world force during his time at the club. The attacking midfielder will now earn around £6million a year at Bayern Munich, alongside his sponsorship deal with Nike.
8. Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
Gareth Bale’s rise over the last few years has been phenomenal. Starting off as something of a laughing stock for the club, he is now considered one of the best players in the world. The Welsh winger has something of a Cristiano Ronaldo feel about him, exciting crowds with his tricks, dribbling and exceptional technique with long range shots and free kicks. After lighting up the Premier League this season with 21 goals, he was crowned double Player of the Year by both the Professional Footballers’ Association and the Football Writers’ Association, and is now being lined up as the next ‘Galactico’ signing by Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Real are said to be willing to make him the second most expensive player of all time with a massive offer to Tottenham of £65million. Spurs are understandably keen to keep the 23-year-old, who has almost single-handedly won games for the team this season as they narrowly missed out on a Champions League place. His ability to win games with a moment of magic out of nowhere obviously make him incredibly valuable on the pitch in terms of winning points, and the money made from the star player’s shirt sales is also an important asset to the North Londonders. They are said to be willing to offer him a massive £150,000 a week to remain at White Hart Lane, but Real Madrid have also said they can beat that offer if they sign him. The Spurs star also recently signed a lucrative three-year sponsorship deal with BT to appear in their adverts and work for them as a guest pundit.
7. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
The 29-year-old is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in football now, after years of success with both Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Arguably his finest moment came when he scored the winning goal against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final, truly announcing himself on the world stage.
After coming up through Barcelona’s famous La Masia youth system, there is no suggestion that he would ever be sold by the club with which he has spent his whole career, but his market value is said to be around £61million taking into account his ability, influence and marketability. He currently has a salary of over £4million a year, plus extra money from sponsorship deals with the likes of Kalise, an ice cream manufacturer.
6. Edinson Cavani (Napoli)
The much in-demand Napoli striker is likely to be one of the biggest transfer stories this summer as he makes a big money move to any one of Manchester City, Chelsea or Real Madrid. The 26-year-old has been a star in Serie A over the last few years, proving himself to be one of the world’s most lethal goal scorers.
He currently has a salary of around £3.8million per year, but that will surely rise this summer when he makes a move to a bigger club. Prospective buyers will be expected to pay around £54million for the Uruguayan, such is his reputation now as a skillful match-winner of immense ability, who will surely go on to enjoy further success in the future with goals and silverware galore.
5. Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)
Another player whose stock has risen dramatically this season is Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao. The Colombian has an excellent record of 34 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions this season for the Spanish side and is unlikely to remain for much longer at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, after attracting interest from the world’s richest clubs, such as Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG and Monaco. Behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in La Liga’s scoring charts this year, the 27-year-old has shown his ability to perform on the biggest stage, performing in high profile games such as the Super Cup win over Chelsea, where he netted a superb hat trick, and scoring against giants Real Madrid and Barcelona in league games.
He is an exciting player to watch, scoring a variety of goals from different positions, and will only improve when given service from better players in the teams that hope to sign him. He has already moved for big money in the past, joining Atletico Madrid from Porto in 2011 for £34million plus add-ons, and will surely move for close to £60million this summer, given his importance to the team. He would reportedly become one of the best-paid players in the world if he joined Chelsea, who will offer him a weekly wage of around £200,000. He currently has a sponsorship deal with Puma, and is certainly on his way to becoming one of the world’s most marketable players.
4. Neymar (Santos)
Despite only being 21, Neymar’s estimated market value is around £44million. The Brazilian starlet has earned rave reviews for his performances for Santos since making his debut as a teenager, and quickly gained world-wide exposure after appearing for the Brazilian national side shortly afterwards. He is one of the brightest prospects in world football after some mesmerizing solo goals in the Brazilian league, likening him to Barcelona star Lionel Messi. Barcelona could be the next destination for Neymar, who is widely expected to make a greatly anticipated move to Europe this summer.
The striker is sure to be a world class performer for the next decade or so, and the Nou Camp would be a fitting stage for him to showcase his talents, as his exciting attacking instincts would certainly fit in well with Barcelona’s expansive style of play. He is already one of Brazil’s best-ever paid players with his sponsorship deals with Nike and Volskwagen, and he will gain even more exposure if he can perform for Barcelona. The two clubs are said to currently be negotiating a fee, and the usual suspects – Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City – will all be monitoring the situation as they hope to make a late move for the Santos star, who will no doubt be one of the most talked about transfers this summer.
3. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Surprisingly, Manchester United might part company with Wayne Rooney this summer after the England striker is said to have submitted a transfer request at Old Trafford. The 27-year-old has been at the club for nine years and is almost certainly the most valuable English player since David Beckham. Having moved for close to £28million as an 18-year-old from Everton, he has gone on to enjoy immense success at one of the world’s biggest and most famous football clubs.
He is one of the world’s best paid players, earning £15million a year from Manchester United, and has sponsorship endorsements with big names such as Nike, Nokia, Ford, Coca Cola and Asda, as well as appearing on the front cover of every FIFA video game since 2005. His marketability makes him incredibly valuable, and though he may move for a cut price of around £30million, he is probably worth closer to £57million and will be a big business boost for whichever club signs him, due to the number of shirts he would sell, and of course his influence on the pitch when he reaches his best form.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
You could certainly say Cristiano Ronaldo is somewhat undervalued by his current club Real Madrid, earning a relatively low £10million a year from the Spanish giants. The Portuguese winger is one of the world’s biggest names after first establishing himself at Manchester United before his record-breaking £80million move to Real Madrid in 2009. He is the most expensive player of all time, and it’s easy to see why with his phenomenal goal scoring record.
The 28-year-old has managed 201 goals in 199 games for Madrid, a better goal scoring tally than you’ll see from anyone in the world, and he continually scores goals of exceptional quality as well, with many coming from long range or one of his trademark free kicks. His buyout clause with the club is currently close to £1billion, which gives some indication into how much he would cost to be prized away from the Bernebeu.
PSG have been linked with making him the most expensive player in history again, and are said to be willing to offer between £84million and perhaps even £100million for him. If he moves to yet another big team in another high-profile transfer, his stock will only continue to rise, and he is likely to find himself as one of the world’s best paid footballers.
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi has an estimated personal wealth of around £73million, and is without a doubt the world’s most valuable footballer. The Argentine star has never commanded a high transfer fee due to his development from the Barcelona youth team, but after his world class displays over the last few years, in which he has helped the club win every trophy possible, he would be valued at around £105million in today’s transfer market.
The 25-year-old still has many years left at the top, and although you could argue his reputation couldn’t possibly improve as he is already regarded as perhaps the best player of all time, he will carry on scoring his fine individual goals and helping Barcelona to trophies. A World Cup win with Argentina is probably the only thing missing from his collection of achievements, and would surely cement his place as the best of all time.
Although he is not the stereotypical celebrity footballer, his ability has unsurprisingly shot him to fame, and he has appeared on the covers of both the Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA video games, as well as on several adverts for Adidas, Pepsi and even a Japanese face wash ‘Scalp D’. He is also an ambassador for Turkish Airlines.