CIES Unveils the Top 50 Most Valuable Footballers Globally

According to the latest data from the CIES Football Observatory, Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid has been recognized as the world's most valuable football player.

At just 20 years old, Bellingham's impressive performance in Spain has led to a significant increase in his estimated transfer value, bringing it up to an incredible €267.5m.

Bellingham is one of five players around the world, including three of his Real Madrid teammates, who have an estimated value over €200m. Ranking just below him are Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, Erling Haaland of Manchester City, and Bukayo Saka.

An extra three players from the Premier League make up the remainder of the top ten, with each of the top 39 players globally having an estimated value above €100m.

See below for a complete breakdown of the top 50 players.

Despite having strong recognition in the football world, Trent-Alexander-Arnold, Jack Grealish, Bruno Fernandes, and Alphonso Davies didn't make the top 50. Instead, the last spot is held by Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United.

Kudus' worth to the team is €93.8m, more than double the €44.5m that was paid to Ajax in August. He is followed by Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United and Harry Kane from Bayern Munich, who has had an extraordinarily successful start in the Bundesliga.

Josko Gvardiol, who signed with Manchester City last summer, is worth almost €100m, along with Gabriel Magalhaes, a center-back for Arsenal. Alejandro Balde from Barcelona and other defenders with slightly lower values are quickly approaching the nine-figure mark as well.

The 45th spot is held by Premier League target Nico Williams with a staggering value of €98.3m. Evan Ferguson, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Rasmus Hojlund are valued at €99.2m, €99.5m, and €99.7m respectively.

Takefusa Kubo, who currently plays for the continually improving Real Sociedad, has an estimated worth just below €100m. A number of other players, such as Ronald Araujo of Barcelona, Jeremy Doku of Manchester City, Dejan Kulusevski of Tottenham, and Victor Osimhen of Napoli, also have values in the vicinity of €100m.

Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak are valued at €101.9m and €102.7m respectively, just behind Lautaro Martinez from Inter. Following them are defensive stars Jules Kounde from Barcelona and Declan Rice, who is gaining attention for his performance at Arsenal.

William Saliba, a center-back for Arsenal, is valued at €104.3m, coming in just below two other significant Premier League recruits this past summer. Chelsea's Cole Palmer and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister are valued at €104.9m and €106.2m respectively.

Kylian Mbappe, who's contract with Paris Saint-Germain is set to expire in less than half a year, is valued at €106.2m, a number that is greatly impacted by his uncertain future.

Lastly, Kai Havertz and Bruno Guimaraes, who play for Arsenal and Newcastle United respectively, are close behind Xavi Simons in terms of value.

Coveted young centre-back Antonio Silva is the most valuable defender in the world at €114.1m, trailing AC Milan forward Rafael Leao and Napoli's tricky winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is wanted by Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, but his valuation of €117m may just dampen any hopes the trio have of luring him away from the surprise Bundesliga leaders.

Darwin Nunez may be struggling to find the back of the net with regularity at Liverpool, but he's still worth a cool €117.6m to the club - just less than what Rodri is worth to Manchester City.

Enzo Fernandez, who was Chelsea's record signing for just six months, holds an estimated value of €123.6m, which is slightly less than perennially injured Barcelona wonder boy Pedri.

Eduardo Camavinga is going from strength to strength at Real Madrid and that reflects in his valuation, while Marcus Rashford still has a solid foundation despite struggling for form at Manchester United.

Dominik Szoboszlai is worth far more than what Liverpool paid for him in the summer, standing at €138.6m, and Federico Valverde and Gabriel Martinelli are worth in excess of €140m - the latter just €1.8m short of the €150m mark.

The top ten players are all estimated to be worth at least €150m, starting with Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian was tipped for greatness when he joined Real Madrid as a 16-year-old, and his latest valuation suggests he's done what's required to be regarded as one of the world's best.

Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala is the premium playmaker in German football, so it's no shock that he's valued at €152.4m, and there's also a sky-high price attached to Manchester City's serial winner Julian Alvarez.

Barcelona youngster Gavi offers the financially-stricken Catalan giants hope for the future with a valuation of €175.4m - should they ever need to sell - though that's a good €20m short of Phil Foden's value at Manchester City.

Bukayo Saka is the second most valuable English footballer at a staggering €223m, but even he is someway short of a runaway top four. Real Madrid wing duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes combined are estimated to be worth just below €500m, with Erling Haaland the game's ultimate striker at €251.2m.

It's Jude Bellingham who is top dog though after a barnstorming opening to his Real Madrid career. The Stourbridge-born midfielder already has 17 goals to his name at the time of writing, popping up time and again when Carlo Ancelotti has needed him in both La Liga and in the Champions League.