Premier League market values: Ferguson biggest winner - Rice and Rodri break €100m mark

The Premier League is the first of the top five leagues to get new market values this fall, and the world’s most expensive football market has two new players breaking the €100 million mark – worldwide, there are now 13 footballers with a market value of €100m or more. Chelsea overtake Real Madrid in squad value despite a disappointing start to the season, Brighton are the biggest winners and the most valuable league increases its total market value by around €630m to €11 billion.

No less than 31 Premier League players have seen their market value rise by €10m or more. They include Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Manchester City’s treble winner Rodri, who impressively demonstrate just how valuable defensive midfielders are in football today. “Following his record transfer to Arsenal, Rice has settled in very quickly and is reliably fulfilling his leadership role,” Daniel Busch, Area Manager Transfermarkt UK, said. “Together with Man City’s Rodri, who is also up €10m, there are now five footballers in England with a market value above €100m.”

Premier League market values: Haaland remains at the top

There is no change at the top of the Premier League market value rankings this time around, with Man City striker Erling Haaland continuing to tower over Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and team mate Phil Foden.

Caicedo in top 3 The most valuable defensive midfielders in the world Click here for overview Chelsea signing Moisés Caicedo, who completes the trio of the world’s three most valuable defensive midfielders, is also approaching this level. The Ecuadorian rises by €15m to €90m and also helps the Blues to improve their squad value despite struggling on the pitch. After an increase of €73m, Chelsea’s squad now boasts a total value of €999m, overtaking Real Madrid’s (€991m). However, this was only achieved thanks to €1.01b paid in transfer fees. The Los Blancos team only cost €573m.

“Despite a poor start to the season and five downgrades, Chelsea posted the third-largest increase in market value league-wide,” Busch said. “This is partly due to the many expensive summer transfers that had to be adjusted upwards, such as Caicedo, Roméo Lavia, Cole Palmer and Lesley Ugochukwu. And secondly, the young players returning from loan, like Ian Maatsen and Levi Colwill, for whom high fees were offered in the summer and are now getting more playing time.”

Market value winner Ferguson could be Brighton's next €100m sale

On the pitch, things are once again going well for Brighton, who have been able to maintain their form from last season despite notable departures. As such, the market value curve of Roberto De Zerbi’s team is also continuing to point upwards: Evan Ferguson (+€35m to €65m), Kaoru Mitoma (+€18m to €50m) and Carlos Baleba (+€15m to €20m) are among the three biggest winners in the league.

“The biggest increase of the update goes to Ferguson, who could become the next player after Caicedo to leave Brighton for more than €100m,” Busch said. “The 18-year-old is getting more and more minutes, scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle and is the most exciting striker in the world’s most expensive market, at the best club when it comes to selling players.” Ferguson is now the second most valuable teenager in football behind Barcelona’s Gavi. The squad value of the Seagulls has risen by €92m to €468m.

The only squad to lose market value following the update is that of Manchester United. After four upgrades and six downgrades, there is a slight drop of €5m. While summer signing Rasmus Højlund (+€20m to €65m) is on the up thanks to the high transfer fee paid for his services, two wingers, who cost a combined €180m, are going down: Antony (-€10m to €50m) and Jadon Sancho (-€13m to €32m), who have so far not lived up to the transfer fees paid for them.

“The second largest decrease of the update goes to Sancho, who was recently no longer part of the squad and was suspended from training by head coach Erik ten Hag after alleged indiscipline,” Busch said. “He has lost nearly €70m in market value since his transfer in 2021 and will be allowed to leave United in January.”

Premier League market values: Chelsea duo drops - Álvarez on the up

Other notable market value losers include Man United’s Marcus Rashford (-€5m to €75m), Chelsea duo Reece James (-€10m to €55m) and Wesley Fofana (-€15m to €40m), as well as Tottenham’s Richarlison (-€8m to €40m) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (-€13m to €32m).

The biggest winners also include Man City’s summer signing Jérémy Doku (+€32m to €60m) and team mate Julián Álvarez (+€20m to €80m), as well as Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai (+€20m to €70m), whose new market value corresponds to the exit clause triggered by Liverpool. There are significant upgrades for West Ham’s in-demand midfielder Lucas Paquetá (+€20m to €65m) and Pape Matar Sarr (+€20m to €35m) of Tottenham.

How Transfermarkt market values work

The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees. 

The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).