On January 4th, CIES Football Observatory updated their figures when releasing their biannual transfer value list.
There are a few shocks, to say the least.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford is regarded as Europe’s most valuable player.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is closely behind him in third, ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Jadon Sancho.
However, arguably the biggest shock – with all due respect – is the fact that West Ham’s Declan Rice is deemed more valuable than two truly world-class footballers.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and Manchester City maestro Kevin De Bruyne find themselves below Rice in the CIES Football Observatory rankings.
The Hammers academy graduate is rated at €72 million (£65.3 million), whereas the Belgium international is valued at €71.9 million (£65.2 million).
Incredibly, Messi is valued at just €54 million (£49 million) – however, at 33 years of age, there’s no denying he’s on his way down in the footballing world.
To be named ahead of the immensely talented duo speaks volumes as to how well Rice is doing at the London Stadium.
It’s easy to forget that the England international is still just 21 years of age.
In such a short space of time, Rice has amassed 127 appearances for West Ham, as well as ten caps for the England national team.
In our view, he’s only going to get more valuable at this rate.
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