Most Expensive Football Players 2022: Top 10 Highest Transfer Values By CIES Football Observatory

Who are the most expensive football players in the world now? Here is a full list of the top 10 football players with the highest transfer values in 2022.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is the most valuable player in the world ahead of Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior; six England players feature in the top 25 with another 12 ranking in the top 100; Erling Haaland lands the third spot after securing Manchester City move this summer

The last CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post before the summer break presents the top 100 estimated transfer values for players worldwide. Thanks to his fresh three-year contract extension with Paris St-Germain, Kylian Mbappé (€206) is back at the top of the list. The French world champion outranks the previous leader and recent Champions League winner Vinícius Júnior (€185M), as well as the new Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (€153M).

The Portuguese Rúben Dias has the greatest estimated transfer value for a center-back: €110M. Gianluigi Donnarumma (€74M) tops the table for goalkeepers, Trent Alexander-Arnold (€87M) for fullbacks, and Pedri González (€135M) for midfielders. Benfica’s striker Darwin Núñez (47th, €70M) has the highest valuation for non-big-5 league players. The 30-year-old Kevin de Bruyne (76th, €57) is the oldest player in the top 100, while 17-year-old Pablo Gavi (73rd, €58M) is the youngest one.

English Premier League clubs dominate the ranking with 41 representatives in the top 100. Transfer value estimate intervals for all big-5 league footballers are available for free here. More information on the CIES Football Observatory approach to assessing the transfer value of professional football players on a scientific basis is available in this freshly published peer-reviewed paper.

To see all the top 100 transfers of the highest values football players, click here