Top 10 footballers with the highest market values ever
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.