Revealed: The most valuable squads in world football right now.
Premier League clubs fare well in the CIES Football Observatory‘s list of the most valuable squads in world football, though there’s no room for Arsenal alongside rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in the top ten.
The Gunners have two big names out of contract at the end of the season in Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, which will have seen their transfer market value drop.
READ MORE
Football Manager 2018 most expensive under-21s: Manchester United, Chelsea & Tottenham starlets in top 20
This is also why Lionel Messi is not currently ranked as Barcelona’s most valuable player, despite surely being worth more than Luis Suarez if his contract situation were more under control.
Despite the signing of Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain also don’t rank as high as you’d expect, with loan players such as Kylian Mbappe not included in their ranking of the value of squads.
Here’s the top ten, with one or two surprise results…
10) Juventus
Value: £743million
Most valuable player: Paulo Dybala (£166million)
Serie A champions for six years in a row and Champions League finalists in two of the last three, it’s little surprise to see European giants Juventus score high here.
9) Atletico Madrid
Value: £800million
Most valuable player: Antoine Griezmann (£147million)
An incredible achievement by manager Diego Simeone, who has largely worked with a shoestring budget at Atletico Madrid to get this group of players worth far more than they were when he joined, or when he signed them.
8) Paris Saint-Germain
Value: £864million
Most valuable player: Neymar (£218million)
No doubt boosted by the summer signing of Neymar, PSG have long had many of the world’s best and most expensive players, but the Brazilian forward from Barcelona certainly takes them up a level.
7) Liverpool
Value: £901million
Most valuable player: Mohamed Salah (£101million)
Premier League clubs are always likely to rank high here, and with big names like Salah and Philippe Coutinho in their ranks, Liverpool have a fair few players who’d command big fees if they were ever to be sold.
6) Real Madrid
Value: £903million
Most valuable player: Cristiano Ronaldo (£96million)
Just ahead of Liverpool, Real Madrid are actually surprisingly low on this list considering the big names in their squad, though in fairness Cristiano Ronaldo being their most valuable player and set to turn 33 this season may affect that.
5) Manchester United
Value: £919million
Most valuable player: Romelu Lukaku (£165million)
Few surprises here, with Manchester United splashing the cash on various big names down the years, including Paul Pogba and this summer’s marquee purchase Romelu Lukaku, who ranks as their most valuable player at over double what they actually paid Everton for him.
4) Chelsea
Value: £1,044million
Most valuable player: Eden Hazard (£121million)
With the likes of Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata and so many other big names in a dense squad of players all around their peak years, Premier League champions Chelsea come in at an impressive fourth place here.
3) Barcelona
Value: £1,130million
Most valuable player: Luis Suarez (£134million)
One of the biggest clubs in the world, Barcelona would quite likely be in first place if, as already noted, Messi weren’t so close to the end of his contract, though the likes of Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique obviously keep them up there with the best.
2) Tottenham
Value: £1,173million
Most valuable player: Harry Kane (£186million)
A quite astonishing achievement by Tottenham, who have absolutely excelled in snapping up young players on the cheap and maximising their value through expert coaching from Mauricio Pochettino. In the case of their most valuable player, Harry Kane, kudos must also go to the Spurs academy for producing a homegrown talent now rightly considered world class and one of the most valuable players in the world.
1) Manchester City
Value: £1,196million
Most valuable player: Kevin De Bruyne (£145million)
Not too many surprises here, with Manchester City boasting a hugely impressive squad with many of the best young players in the world, which undoubtedly adds to their market value. De Bruyne comes out on top in their squad, also containing huge talents such as Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.