Revealed: The 100 most valuable footballers on Earth… And it’s bad news for Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi tops the pile ahead of team-mate Neymar, while Tottenham's Harry Kane comes in as the fifth most expensive
THE Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo debate may finally have been put to bed, thanks to some number crunching by the CIES Football Observatory.
The values of all the world’s players are based on several factors, including age, length of current contract, as well as performance-based stats.
And it’s Lionel Messi who comes out on top — valued at an incredible £163million.
And Real Madrid man Ronaldo — fresh from winning the Champions League — is only good for third at £106m, with Messi’s Barca team-mate Neymar second at a whopping £155m.
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann takes fourth on £93m and the Premier League gets its first entry at No5.
But it’s not Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard or Alexis Sanchez — who are ninth, 12th and 13th — but Tottenham and England man Harry Kane.
The Three Lions forward is valued at a mind-boggling £87m, with Manchester United’s Anthony Martial in sixth on £86m and former Liverpool man Luis Suarez seventh on £81m.
Juventus’ massively exciting prospect Paulo Dybala takes eighth at £80m, while his team-mate Paul Pogba rounds of the top ten at £70m.
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There are a host of other Premier League faces in the list, including Spurs’ Dele Alli in 14th at £58m, Raheem Sterling in 16th at £56m, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku in 24th at £45m and Kevin De Bruyne in 26th at £43m.
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho sits in 27th valued at £40m, with Chelsea pair Willian and Thibaut Courtois, and Tottenham duo Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen all in the top 40.
Man United stopper David De Gea, Blues midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi make the top 50, along with Leicester duo N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, Pedro and Memphis Depay.
See SunSport’s graphic above to run down the full 100 most valuable footballers on the planet.