England does not appear in the football pools as one of the favorites to win the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but its performance against Iran, a 6-2 victory, in its opening match may change the way of thinking of those who are in charge of giving more or less prominence to one team or another, which in some cases, it is based on a group of considerations of more or less importance, but also on the performance of the players above all.
If you stop for a minute to look at the lineup of Gareth Southgate, the England manager, in the first match of his team, you conclude that it has more than enough quality. But even it looks more powerful if you check the substitutes' bench and see players like Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden, who is valued by Transfermarkt at €110 million.
Only Norway's Erling Haaland (22 y.o.), France's Kylian Mbappé (23) and Brazil's Vinicius Junior appear ahead of Foden, who, however, did not appear in his national team's first match, where several other England players included in the top ten of the most valuable did, such as Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka.
WHY DOES ENGLAND HAVE A HIGHER MARKET VALUE IN QATAR 2022?
The Transfermarkt website does not speculate on the quality of one player or another, but on the market value, an aspect in which the quality of the player plays a significant role and also the age and physical condition of the player. For example, a 30-year-old player may be better than a 23-year-old, but any club would be willing to pay more for the 23-year-old player, for obvious reasons, including future prospects.
The most valuable player of all England international players is Foden, who is also listed as the most expensive midfielder; while Tottenham's 29-year-old Harry Kane, first-choice striker, is the highest-valued attacker (90 million euros) and Liverpool wing-back Trent Alexander Arnold, another second-choice player, is the defender with the highest market value (70 million euros).
ENGLAND PLAYERS WITH THE HIGHEST MARKET VALUE
| PLAYER | CLUB | AGE | MARKET VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phill Foden | Manchester City | 22 | 110 millions |
| Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dormund | 19 | 100 millions |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham | 29 | 90 millions |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 21 | 90 millions |
| Declan Rice | West Ham | 23 | 80 millions |
WHY IS BRAZIL SO HIGH-UP AND ARGENTINA RANKED SEVENTH?
Brazil and Argentina appear in the pools as big favorites to win the tournament, or at least to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup, but while the Brazilian team is the one with the second highest market value, the 'Albiceleste' is only ranked seventh on the list, mainly because several of Argentina's most important players are now seniors and have lost their market value.
Lionel Messi, for example, is the most valued player above 35 years in the world, with around 50 million euros, he is ahead of Poland's Robert Lewandowski (45 million), France's Karim Benzema (35) and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (20), but in the list of the most valuable players without taking age into account, the first Argentinian is Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan, valued at 75 million euros.
ARGENTINA'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
| PLAYER | CLUB | AGE | MARKET VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lautaro Martínez | Inter de Milán | 25 | 75 millions |
| Cristian Romero | Tottenham | 24 | 55 millions |
| Lionel Messi | PSG | 35 | 50 millions |
| Lisandro Martínez | Manchester United | 24 | 50 millions |
| Angel Correa | Atlético de Madrid | 27 | 40 millions |
BRAZIL'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
| PLAYER | CLUB | AGE | MARKET VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | 22 | 120 millions |
| Rodrigo | Real Madrid | 21 | 80 millions |
| Neymar Junior | PSG | 30 | 75 millions |
| Gabriel Jesús | Arsenal | 25 | 75 millions |
| Antony | Manchester United | 22 | 75 millions |
Brazil, on the other hand, has Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid, as the third highest valuable player with 120 million euros, and then his teammate, Rodrigo Goes (21 years old) with 80 million euros in 14th place, this boosts the market value of the Canarinha, although it has, for example, Thiago Silva of Chelsea, who currently at the age of 38 is worth only 2.50 million and has a negative impact on the value of the ‘Selecao’.
In Brazil's favor is also the fact that it counts on Antony, Manchester United's right winger (75 million), Arsenal's center-forward Gabriel Jesus (75), PSG's left winger Neymar Junior (75) and his teammate and central defender Marquinhos (70 million), all among the top 50, with no other Argentinian below until defender Cristian Romero, who is ranked 68th, with 55 million euros.
PORTUGAL, IN SPITE OF CRISTIANO RONALDO
Right now and despite his 37 years -almost 38-, Cristiano Ronaldo is the 25th player with the highest market value in Portugal. He is the most valued player in the world at different moments of his career, who he has seen the time go by, and also his estimated value, but the value that Transfermarkt gives him is still high, because 20 million euros is a considerable sum.
Of course, Ronaldo has something that not many players can boast: goals and a thirst for success. And that will make him different and also it will give him value every time he will be able to jump on a soccer pitch, especially because he takes care of his body with the dedication of the best goldsmith, this is something that is always taken into account, despite the fact that lately he has not been doing very well with his current club, Manchester United in England.
PORTUGAL'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
| PLAYER | CLUB | AGE | MARKET VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Leao | Milán AC | 23 | 85 millions |
| Bernardo Silva | Manchester City | 28 | 80 millions |
| Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | 28 | 75 millions |
| Rúben Dias | Manchester city | 25 | 75 millions |
| Joao Cancelo | Manchester City | 28 | 70 millions |
Portugal, of course, has an endless number of highly valuable players, with whom the coach Fernando Santos will try to win for his country the first title of Champion in all the history of the World Cups, starting with the left winger of Milan AC Rafael Leado (23 years old) who is valued at 85 million euros, as well as Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, whose value reaches 80 million.
Portugal also counts on central defender Ruben Dias (Manchester City, 25) and midfielder Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, 28), who have stakes of $75 million each, including Manchester City right-back Joao Cancelo, who despite his age (28 years), is worth 70 million euros. All of these players will be very important for the Portuguese squad in its eagerness to go far in Qatar 2022.
From Latin American countries, after Brazil (2nd) and Argentina (7th - 633.2 million), appear also Uruguay (10th - 449.9 million), Mexico (23th - 176.1 million), Ecuador (28th - 146.5 million) and Costa Rica (31th -18.7 million euros). However, except for the first two, it is very unlikely that any of the other teams will be able to fight on equal terms at least to get into the semifinals of the World Cup.
Uruguay, who won two World Cups in 1930 and 1950, would have to give us a major surprise to dominate a ‘fight’ that has not been won by any country in the American continent since Japan and South Korea in 2002, when Brazil was crowned as the Champion, beating Germany 2-0 in the Final match, thanks to two goals from Ronaldo, ‘the Phenomenon’.
