Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the footballing world for more than a decade, winning 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them. But as the two greats enter the twilight phase of their career’s, a new crop of talent has emerged and the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Jadon Sancho, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling have overtaken them as the most valuable football players in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo Uses New Rugby Studs to Improve his Speed & Agility on Field (See Pics).

In their recent biannual report, CIES Football Observatory published the list of most valuable footballers in the world across the top five leagues in Europe which was topped by Paris Saint Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe. The French international since bursting on to the scene as a 17-year-old with Monaco has been one of the most exciting players in world football.

The World Cup winner is followed by Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, though the Englishman has had a difficult season, he is still valued on a high level at the moment according to the study. Sterling is followed by arguably the most talked about player this season, Jadon Sancho. In 40 appearances the 20-year-old has been involved in 40 goals and has been linked with the likes of Manchester United.

Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold takes the fourth place with fellow Reds stars Mo Salah and Sadio Mane occupying the sixth and seventh spot. The Liverpool trio is separated by Man United sensation Marcus Rashford in fifth. Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann is eight while Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane complete the top 10.

Top 20 Most Valuable Football Players:

Ranking Player Value
1 Kylian Mbappe (PSG) £231.1m
2 Raheem Sterling (Man City) £173.6m
3 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) £159.7m
4 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) £152.6

 
5 Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) £135.8m

 
6 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) £129.2m

 
7 Sadio Mane (Liverpool) £124.1m
8 Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) £121.6m
9 Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) £119m

 
10 Harry Kane (Tottenham) £105.8m
11 Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) £105.7m

 
12 Bernardo Silva (Man City) £102.5m
13 Gabriel Jesus (Man City) £100.8m
14 Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) £95.9m
15 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) £95.3m

 
16 Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) £94.9m
17 Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd) £93.5m

 
18 Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) £93m

 
19 Mason Mount (Chelsea) £91.4m

 
20 Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) £90.7m

 

 

Probably the most shocking thing in the list is the rankings of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Barcelona star even after being La Liga’s highest goal-scorer and assist provider is in 22nd while the Juventus man is 70th and the oldest player in the top 100.

The rankings of a particular player in the list and his market value are based on a unique algorithm which takes into account factors such as age, playing position and length of the contract, this could explain why Messi and Ronaldo are placed so low.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 09, 2020 04:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).