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The 15 Most Expensive Players at the 2026 World Cup—Ranked
Few World Cups have been dominated by speculation over prices as much as the 2026 edition. Tickets, hotels, public transportation have all come under fire from fans who feel exploited.
Even U.S. President Donald Trump admitted that he “wouldn’t pay” the sums being bandied around by FIFA.
Yet, the valuations of the figures actually taking to the field exceed even the most egregious demands being made on World Cup spectators this summer. The CIES Football Observatory have taken into consideration a wide range of factors—age, position, contract length, performance—to estimate just how much the world’s best players would cost on the open market. It’s a little more than a train out of Penn Station.
15. Joao Neves (Portugal)—$135 million
“The hardest thing is not getting there,” João Neves’s father likes to say, “it’s staying there.” The son of a police officer lived up to that mantra by helping Paris Saint-Germain defend their Champions League crown in May but is aiming for new heights at international level.
The last time Portugal made it past the World Cup quarterfinals, Neves had not yet turned 2 years old.
14. Yan Diomande (Cote d’Ivoire)—$137 million
There is a queue of clubs willing to put Yan Diomande’s valuation to the test. RB Leipzig have made it abundantly clear that the Ivorian will command a record shattering fee and the likes of Liverpool and PSG are reportedly giving serious consideration to lodging a hefty bid.
A ridiculous return of 12 goals, nine assists and the most dribbles of any player in the Bundesliga (Diomande completed 118, a full 50 clear of Antonio Nusa in second place) helps explain the giddy excitement.
13. Jude Bellingham (England)—$139 million
“Some players are No. 10s, attacking midfielders, central midfielders, holding midfielders,” Jude Bellingham’s manager at Birmingham City, Pep Clotet, once explained. “Jude is a midfielder. Like in the old days.”
He certainly has the price tag for the modern day.
12. Pedri (Spain)—$139 million
Goals and assists may still be lacking for the brain of Spain and Barcelona’s midfield, but his value lies in the intangible capacity to improve everyone around him.
“Anyone who’s next to him is going to feel comfortable because he’s very good,” Frenkie de Jong explained from experience. “He solves a lot of things and always gives it to you in the best conditions.”
11. Florian Wirtz (Germany)—$143 million
“I remember once there was an article in Sports BILD in Germany, where they showed a potential national team for 2028, and there was his name,” Florian Wirtz’s former under-17 coach at FC Köln, Martin Heck, recalled to The Athletic. “I said to him, ‘Hey, did you see? You’re a national team player in 2028!’ And he didn’t even know the publication—and it’s one of the biggest in Germany.”
In hindsight, Wirtz’s indifference was perhaps justified. He made his Germany debut in 2021, seven years ahead of schedule.
10. Pau Cubarsi (Spain)—$144 million
There is nothing that outwardly fazes Barcelona’s ultimate poker player. Marshaling Hansi Flick’s outrageous high line, playing alongside an inexperienced teen in an unnatural position or even being abused by opposition fans, the most effusive reaction Pau Cubarsí seems capable of conjuring is a wry smile.
9. Arda Guler (Turkiye)—$144 million
Fenerbahçe reportedly paid Genclerbirligi $230,000 (€200,000) for a teenage Arda Güler in 2014. When the playmaker broke into the first team seven years later, Fener were entitled to cough up another $230,000.
You’d be lucky to get one of the Real Madrid star’s toes for that sum these days.
8. Nico O’Reilly (England)—$144 million
Barely 14 months ago, Nico O’Reilly was lining up for England’s under-20 side. Now he heads into this summer as Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice left back for the World Cup, with a valuation which would make him the most expensive defender of all time.
“Everything has happened so fast,” the Manchester City academy gem admitted earlier this season, “but I’m enjoying every single minute of it.” Why wouldn’t he?
7. Kenan Yildiz (Turkiye)—$153 million
Most players shrug off comparisons to legends of the past but Kenan Yıldız has embraced the constant links to his legendary predecessor in the Juventus No. 10 shirt, Alessandro Del Piero.
The Italian icon is fully in favor of the symmetry himself. “When I see him play, I see a bit of myself,” Del Piero grinned, “but he has his own unique magic.”
6. Desire Doue (France)—$154 million
It’s much easier to accept the role of a back-up when the duo in front of you comprises the reigning Ballon d’Or holder and the next most likely winner of the individual award.
In most other teams, Désiré Doué would be the star of the show. Yet, for club (and country), he’s just another immensely talented forward at the disposal of a manager hell bent on extracting every last ounce of value out of his roster.
5. Morgan Rogers (England)—$158 million
Perhaps the most surprising entry on this list. Aston Villa’s wriggling midfielder has his valuation boosted by his age (23), length of contract (five years) as well as the obvious talent at his disposal.
If reports are to be believed, Villa could find out exactly how much Morgan Rogers is worth this summer.
4. Michael Olise (France)—$162 million
Real Madrid are supposedly eyeing up a $175 million bid for Michael Olise. But even $230 million (€200 million) wouldn’t convince Bayern Munich to part ways with their French star.
“We play this game for our fans,” the club’s honorary (and forever outspoken) president Uli Hoeneß scoffed earlier this year. “We have 430,000 members, we have many millions of fans around the world, and it does them little good if we have 200 million more in the bank and play worse football every Saturday because of that.”
3. Kylian Mbappe (France)—$191 million
“In soccer, people have short memories,” Kylian Mbappé mused ahead of the World Cup. “You can have won everything, and the next day...it’s already forgotten. If it was years ago, it’s in the past.”
France’s captain comes into the competition as Real Madrid’s public enemy No. 1, the subject of a record-setting public poll to oust him from the Spanish capital his 42 goals in 44 games failed to bring any silverware.
If this World Cup is like the last two—which saw him reach the final on each occasion—all that opprobrium could also be swiftly forgotten.
2. Erling Haaland (Norway)—$262 million
“Norway will never win the World Cup,” Erling Haaland declared before qualification had been secured. With the unrelenting finisher at the tip of the team’s attack, Ståle Solbakken’s team aren’t entirely without a chance.
The last time Haaland failed to score in a competitive fixture for Norway was October 2024 (a 5–1 loss to Austria). The nation’s talisman found the net at least once in all eight World Cup qualifiers, leading the global goal tally with 16. If there’s anyone who can prove Haaland wrong, it’s Haaland.
1. Lamine Yamal (Spain)—$413 million
Whatever number any rival team or statistical observatory can come up with to capture Lamine Yamal’s value for Barcelona and Spain, it won’t be big enough.
It took a global pandemic and years of financial mismanagement for Barça to lose their last preternaturally gifted, left-footed No. 10. It would take a similar series of unforeseeable events to force through Yamal’s sale. As the club’s sporting director Deco warned last year: “There is no price.”
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Grey Whitebloom is a writer, reporter and editor for Sports Illustrated FC. Born and raised in London, he is an avid follower of German, Italian and Spanish top flight football.