Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior Top Study of World’s Most Valuable Players

It may come as no surprise, but Kylian Mbappé is the most valuable soccer player in the world, according to the latest CIES Football Observatory study.

The CIES study measures factors such as performance, career progression, age and a club’s performance and economic value to determine players’ transfer values—and Mbappé was clearly the top figure. 

The French star, who just signed a new contract with PSG through the 2025 season after a long-winded transfer saga, was listed as having a transfer value of €205.6 million ($220.12 million). 

Next up on the list comes Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior, who is valued at €185.3 million. Less than two weeks ago, the 21-year-old Brazilian scored the winning goal in the Champions League final against Liverpool to give Real its 14th European title. 

Incoming Manchester City forward Erling Haaland ended up significantly behind the top two at €152.6 million. Counting Haaland, City had the most players in the top 10 of the study with Rúben Dias earning the title of most valuable defender (€109.6 million) while Phil Foden is sixth at €124 million. 

The Premier League was the most-represented league in the study with 41 players in the top 100. At 30 years old, Kevin De Bruyne was listed as the oldest player represented at €57 million (76th) while the youngest player is 17-year-old Barcelona phenom Gavi at €58 million (73rd).