Football’s price tags: the most valuable players in 2024

Over the past few decades, with the popularity of football growing around the world, we have seen a major increase in the amount of money that clubs are willing to spend on new talent. There have been a total of 17 transfers to hit the €100m mark, the first of which was when Gareth Bale was transferred from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.

Since then, the price of transfers has continued to rise. The most expensive transfer of all time was for a staggering €222m in 2017 when Brazilian forward Neymar was purchased by PSG from Barcelona.

The list of the most valuable players is constantly changing, with older players growing past their prime, and new stars growing their careers.

Today, we will look at the most valuable footballers on the market in 2024.

Harry Kane – €110m

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane starts off our list with a market value of €110m. Kane is a prolific goalscorer and is one of the best strikers in the world. He is Tottenham Hotspurs and England’s highest goalscorer of all time, and the second-highest all-time goalscorer in the English Premier League. He has scored over 350 goals for his club and country.

Rodri – €110m

27-year-old Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, more commonly known as Rodri, is a defensive midfielder for Manchester City and the Spanish national team. Since joining City in 2019, Rodri has helped the team to win three consecutive league titles between 2021 and 2023.

The 2022/23 season was City’s first UEFA Champions League title, and the club named Rodri their player of the year shortly thereafter. He was the only one to score in that year’s final.

Declan Rice – €110m

Declan Rice is an English defensive midfielder, who was transferred to Arsenal in July of 2023 after playing for West Ham United from 2015 until 2023. His transfer garnered a massive €116.60m price tag, which is currently the eighth most expensive football transfer of all time.

In 2023, he was named the competition’s Player of the Season after captaining his club to the UEFA Europa Conference League title.

Victor Osimhen – €110m

Nigerian-born Victor James Osimhen plays as a striker for the Nigerian national team, as well as Serie A club Napoli. He won the Serie A Best Young Player award in the 2021/22 season, followed up by finishing as the league’s top scorer in the 2022/23 season, scoring 26 goals.

Thanks to help from Osimhen, 2023 was the first time in 33 years that Napoli won a Serie A title.

That same year, he won the league’s Best Striker award, before also being named Serie A Footballer of the Year a few months later.

Osimhen is currently the highest-scoring African player in the history of Serie A.

Lautaro Martínez – €110m

Lautao Javier Martínez is currently the striker and captain for Inter Milan, alongside being the striker for the Argentina national team. He is known for his positioning, as well as his team play and finishing.

At 26 years old, many people consider him to be one of the best strikers in the world. He has scored 97 goals in his 191 apps for Inter Milan, and 21 goals in his 54 apps for the Argentina national team.

Phil Foden – €110m 

At 23 years old, Foden has already made over 200 appearances for City, including a historic treble in the 2022/23 season. He also plays for the English national team, with which he played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The left-footed midfielder is one of the most technically gifted English players in the game today.

Jamal Musiala – €110m

Nicknamed “Bambi” for his incredible dribbling ability, Jamal Musaiala is one of the best young players in the world. The 20-year-old played for both the German and English national teams at the youth level before committing to the German Football Association in 2021.

Today he plays for Bayern Munich alongside the German national team. Any club that is hoping to take Musiala from his current team will most likely have to cough up close to €110m.

Bukayo Saka – €120m

English-born Bukayo Ayoyinka Temidayo Saka plays for both the English national team and Arsenal, where he has spent his entire first-team club career thus far. The right winger has quickly made a name for himself, being named Arsenal’s Player of the Season in both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.

Saka set a club record on 26 August 2023, when he made his 83rd consecutive Premier League appearance for the Gunners. He is also the fourth-youngest Arsenal player to reach 200 appearances for the club.

Vinícius Júnior – €150m

Vinícius Júnior plays as a winger for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team. He’s one of the best players in the world, known for his dribbling ability, speed, and playmaking skills.

When he first joined Real Madrid, many Brazilian fans believed he would be the next Neymar, a title which so far he has done well at keeping. In the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, Júnior was able to reach double figures for both goals and assists.

With Karim Benzema leaving the club in the summer of 2023, Júnior has filled the role of the club’s main star.

Kylian Mbappé – €180m

Kylian Mbappé Lottin has become one of football’s most recognizable figures in recent years. He plays as a forward for Paris Saint-Germain and is the captain of the France national team. He is known for his explosive speed, skilful dribbling, and his finishing abilities.

He has multiple achievements under his belt, including being named player of the year, being the all-time PSG top goal-scorer, as well as a World Cup final. He was the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history at 19 years old. His second-place finish in the 2022 World Cup showcased to the world once again the amount of skill that the young French star has.

Erling Haaland – €180m

The second most valuable player on this list is none other than Norwegian Erling Haaland, the Manchester City striker who has been making waves in the Premier League recently. In his debut Premier League season, Haaland broke the record for most goals scored by a player in a single season, with 36.

Haaland was purchased by City for only €60m back in 2022. While this seems like a lot of money, it was an absolute bargain for City, with how much success he has brought to the club. Fans are excited to see what the young star has in store for the sport in the future and to see how far he is able to go.

Jude Bellingham – €180m

In addition to Jude Bellingham taking the number one spot on this list, he is also youngest player on the list as well at just 20 years old. He plays as a midfielder for Real Madrid, and the England national team. In 2023 he won both the Golden Boy and the Kope Trophy.

Bellingham is known for his control of the ball, his technical skills, and his physicality, making him one of the most well-rounded midfielders in the world. As such, he is able to play well on both offence and defence, filling in gaps for his team whenever needed.

Bellingham was described by Foden as “one of the most gifted players (he) has ever seen”. Philipp Lahm described Bellingham as a “complete midfielder,” who can “dribble, pass, shoot and has the urge to score,” and who is “physical and fearless, holds his ground in challenges and wins the ball”.

Bellingham’s amazing abilities at such a young age show that he likely has a bright future ahead of him, and this has resulted in him being the most valuable player in 2024.