If we ignore the future of Mbappé and Haaland, Endrick is Real Madrid’s flagship recruit for next summer.
The Brazilian is currently on vacation and will return to play for Palmeiras at the end of the month. He will only arrive at the Spanish club in July, at the age of 18. As for last season, Endrick managed to show himself in the home stretch of the season to give his team the championship title and such performances made him climb the various rankings and individual tables.
The CIES Football Observatory, a research group within the International Center for Sports Studies, has compiled a list of the most expensive under-19 talents in the world and the Brazilian immediately stands out with 82 million euros. Madrid paid 35 million euros, plus the same amount depending on different goals.
Who is the most expensive player in the world?
After the Brazilian, it is a PSG player, Warren Zaire-Emery, who is worth 80 million euros. Playing in Europe appears to be the key to higher value, as the top 3 is closed by Lamine Yamal, whose price tag is much lower than the two players ahead of him: €64.5 million. The Spaniard is followed by one of his teammates, Vitor Roque. The striker has just arrived at Barcelona and his transfer value is 56 million euros. In the top 10 there are no other Spaniards and no other players from a La Liga club.
The 🔟 most expensive* players 💵
🥇 @BellinghamJude 🏴 €2⃣6⃣8⃣m
🥈 @ErlingHaaland 🇳🇴 €2⃣5⃣1⃣m
🥉 @vinijr 🇧🇷 €2⃣5⃣0⃣m#Rodrygo 🇧🇷 #Saka 🏴 #Foden 🏴 #Gavi 🇪🇸 #Alvarez 🇦🇷 #Musiala 🇩🇪 #Odegaard 🇳🇴
* Transfer value as per @CIES_Football model
Top 💯 👉 https://t.co/P1kLZlxs2x pic.twitter.com/MmMcxxpnQP— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) January 4, 2024
The CIES has not only published the list of the youngest rising stars, but also that of the most expensive players, all ages combined. The statistical model it uses to accurately calculate the transfer fees that clubs are likely to pay does not take into account any termination clauses, but the age of the player and the remaining duration of their contract.
Bellingham is the most expensive player in the world
The most expensive player in the world right now is Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. To recruit the Englishman, a club would have to spend a total of 267 million euros. If a club were to pay such a sum for Los Blancos, it would be the most expensive signing in history. Erling Haaland comes in second place, with a value of 251 million euros. Madrid is the team with the most players in the top 5, since Vinicius and Rodrygo are third and fourth in this ranking, with 250 million euros and 248 million euros respectively.
Mbappé is far behind, in 27th place. The reason ? He is just six months away from a free move to another team and, at present, it is estimated that no club would pay more than €106m for him. The first Spanish (and Barcelona) player to appear on this list is Gavi, despite his injury, in seventh place with a value of 175 million euros.
