The CIES Football Observatory regularly calculates transfer values for players from their five major European leagues. When creating the actual list of the most expensive football players key parameters were taken into account, such as the age of the player, his role on the field, the duration of the contract, effectiveness, etc. Moreover, players from the Premier League make up exactly half of the top ten.
Here is the ranking of athletes who were awarded the title "The most expensive football players in the world in 2018".
10. Paul Pogba - 147.5 million euros
The transfer of the field from Juventus in 2016 cost Manchester United a club of 105 million euros. At that time, the young athlete was the most expensive football player in the world.
The success of the current Manchester United team shows a noticeable difference in how the team of Jose Mourinho plays with and without his central midfielder. Able to dominate the battle of midfield almost single-handedly, Pogba justifies every euro that was invested in his “acquisition”.
Manchester United head coach Jose Mourinho says he is pleased with Paul Pogba, who demonstrates consistency and stability in his speeches.
9. Antoine Griezmann - 150.2 million euros
The lead striker Atletico may soon move to Real Madrid. According to the Spanish press, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is ready to offer not only monetary compensation for the 27-year-old footballer, but also his team midfielder Dani Ceballos.
To keep a promising player, Atletico can raise Griezmann's salary to twenty million euros a year.
8. Romelu Lukaku - 164.8 million euros
Another Manchester United player in the top 10 most expensive football players in the world. In 2017, an English football club paid 84.7 million for Lukaku's transfer from Everton. This made the top scorer in the history of the Belgian national team the most expensive striker in the history of England. Recently, however, Romelu has been heavily criticized, as his recent performances have not met expectations.
However, the 24-year-old Lukak is still far from the peak of opportunities. The cost of his transfer in the recent past and subsequent years will reflect the gaming potential.
7. Kevin De Bruyne - 167.8 million euros
One of the most complete midfielders of world football, undoubtedly, is the pearl of the crown of Manchester City. This attacking midfielder, known for his impeccable technique, wide range of skills and ability to score goals from a long distance, played a key role in the successful appearances of Manchester City in both the Premier League and the Champions League.
De Bruyne is one of the few players able to break the Ballon d’Or Duopoly (FIFA's Golden Ball) used by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo since 2008.
6. Dele Alli - 171.3 million euros
Given his age (he is 22 years old), Allie made a fantastic career. He jumped straight from League 1 to the Premier League as a teenager. And he signed a contract with the Tottenham club in February 2015 for a down payment of £ 5 million. After an impressive start to his career in the Premier League, having scored five goals and three assists in his first 18 league games, he was awarded a new long-term contract until January 2021.
And while Dele is not yet the most expensive football player in the world, he is one of the best midfielders according to CIES.
5. Paulo Dybala - 174.6 million euros
Forward Juventus club striker Paulo Dybala becomes Argentina's new superstar. He has already set a personal performance record, scoring 25 goals this season in all tournaments.
In the last match against Benevento, the Argentinean scored three goals (hat-trick), two of them from the penalty spot. This is the third Dybala hat-trick of the season.
4. Kilian Mbappe - 192.5 million euros
This is the youngest athlete in our ranking of the most expensive football players in the world. The striker of the Paris Saint-Germain club was 19 years old, and he already had successful participation in the French Championship match for the Monaco club and a brilliant performance in the Champions League. And the title of the best young French football player of League 1 at the end of the 2016/17 season.
His transfer from Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain cost the French club 180 million euros.
3. Harry Kane - 194.7 million euros
The player of the Tottenham Hotspur club has established himself as the greatest striker since Alan Shearer. And, perhaps, he will reach even greater heights in subsequent years if he can avoid serious injuries that repeatedly threatened the career of his predecessor.
Fully dedicated to the game, Kane said that he had to sacrifice a lot to compete with stars like Ronaldo and Messi: “They have been such good players in the last ten years or so that have dominated football, and rightly so,” he said. Kane “I am proud that I competed with them on equal terms and won. I hope to win every year. Not only beat them once, but also win as many cups as they do, ”the athlete added.
2. Lionel Messi - $ 202.2 million
The five-time winner of Ballon d’Or, the author of one of the best goals in football history and the striker of the Barcelona club, is one of two players on the planet whose transfer will cost more than 200 million euros (based on CIES calculations).
The only thing that does not allow Messi to get the title of the greatest player of all time is the lack of victory at the World Cup. Perhaps the situation will change when the Argentine national team takes part in the World Cup, which will be held in Russia in 2018. By the way, here is a list of players who could not get on this Mundial.
1. Neymar - 213 million euros
Who could afford to buy the most expensive football player for 222 million euros? The French giant Paris Saint-Germain is one of the few clubs in the world capable of this. In the summer of 2017, the Brazilian football star received an offer that she simply could not refuse. Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain to show his ambitions and get out of the shadow of Lionel Messi.
However, recently in the publication Don Balon appeared information that the most expensive football player in the world in 2018 is considering the possibility of moving to Manchester United. And a preliminary agreement with the English club is allegedly already reached. But Neymar did not want to go to Real Madrid. He previously played for Barcelona and fears that fans of Real Madrid will perceive his appearance at the club negatively.
Top 100 highest paid football players of 2018
The table from left to right indicates: place, player’s club, league, age, contract expiration date, national team.
