Skip to main content

Tottenham Hotspur superstar and new England captain Harry Kane has been rated as the most valuable player in the world in the latest study by the CIES Football Observatory, with the Premier League accounting for exactly half of the top 10 and even more of the top 20.

The CIES research into player value uses an algorithm and takes into account such factors as contract, performance and age to determine a figure it should cost to buy an individual.

fbl-eng-pr-tottenham-leicester-5b1669af7134f6ff6b000001.jpg

Kane, who scored 41 goals in 48 games for Tottenham in 2017/18, has proven himself to be one of the most reliable performers anywhere in the world. He is tied to a long-term contract at Spurs that runs to 2022 and is the only player on the planet whose CIES value exceeds €200m.

More precisely, Kane is valued at €201.2m, the equivalent of £175.9m.

It places him higher than Neymar, who is valued at €195.7m, just over €26m less than Paris Saint-Germain paid for him last summer. Kylian Mabppe, who won't celebrate his 20th birthday until December has enormous future potential and so is valued at €186.4m.

Despite his status as one of the best players of all time and a winner of a record fifth European Golden Shoe award in 2017/18, Lionel Messi will turn 31 years of age later this month. His advancing years have affected his value, which is calculated at €184.2m.

argentina-v-haiti-international-friendly-5b1669e7f7b09d0879000004.jpg

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Dele Alli both have values in excess of €170m, while Manchester-based Belgian pair Kevin De Bruyne (€167.2m) and Romelu Lukaku (€163.4m) also feature in the top 10 either side of Antoine Griezmann and Paulo Dybala.

Seven further Premier League players - Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Paul Pogba, Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus, Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen - feature between 11th and 20th.

Cristiano Ronaldo's value is a relatively modest €103.4m, placing him 24th on the list. As with great rival Messi, age is what has affected 33-year-old Ronaldo's estimated value and it will only decrease further regardless of how he continues to perform.

Perhaps surprisingly, Champions League winner Gareth Bale doesn't crack the top 60. Real Madrid were recently rumoured to want an astronomical fee if they were to sell him this summer, but CIES have given Bale, a player who has badly struggled with injuries for a number of seasons, a value of €73.6m.

That is only €800,000 more than 19-year-old Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold.

CIES Football Observatory Top 25 Most Valuable Players in the World:

Player

Club

Transfer Value (€)

Harry Kane

Tottenham Hotspur

€201.2m

Neymar

Paris Saint-Germain

€195.7m

Kylian Mbappe

Paris Saint-Germain

€186.5m

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

€184.2m

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

€171.3m

Dele Alli

Tottenham Hotspur

€171m

Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City

€167.2m

Antoine Griezmann

Barcelona

€164.5m

Paulo Dybala

Juventus

€164.2m

Romelu Lukaku

Manchester United

€163.4m

Raheem Sterling

Manchester City

€155.1m

Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona

€154.6m

Leroy Sane

Manchester City

€152.2m

Paul Pogba

Manchester United

€144.9m

Roberto Firmino

Liverpool

€142.6m

Gabriel Jesus

Manchester City

€140.3m

Eden Hazard

Chelsea

€124.7m

Luis Suarez

Barcelona

€120.4m

Samuel Umtiti

Barcelona

€111.5m

Christian Eriksen

Tottenham Hotspur

€106.2m

Ederson Moraes

Manchester City

€104.6m

Gonzalo Higuain

Juventus

€104.5m

Lorenzo Insigne

Napoli

€104.2m

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

€103.4m

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Barcelona

€100.5m