BREAKING: Lamine Yamal is world’s most valuable football player
Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal has become the most valuable footballer in world football by a considerable distance, according to the latest figures released by the CIES Football Observatory, with the 18-year-old’s estimated transfer value soaring to a record €358 million.
The Spanish international sits comfortably clear of the rest of the field in CIES’s latest ranking of the world’s 100 most valuable players, opening up a gap of more than €130 million to second-placed Erling Haaland of Manchester City, who is valued at €227 million. No other player breaks the €200 million barrier.
The figures underline the extraordinary rise of Yamal, whose combination of age, performances, contract length and sporting impact has made him undisputedly the most coveted asset in global football. The Barcelona winger is valued almost €200 million higher than Kylian Mbappé, with the Real Madrid forward ranked third on €166 million.
The latest list also offers a fascinating snapshot of football’s shifting economic landscape, with youth increasingly driving value. Of the top 10 players, seven are aged 23 or younger.
Behind Mbappé, Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise ranks fourth with a valuation of €141 million, narrowly ahead of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers (€137 million), Paris Saint-Germain’s Désiré Doué (€133 million) and Juventus star Kenan Yildiz (€133 million).
The Premier League is heavily represented throughout the rankings. Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly, valued at €125 million, emerges as the highest-ranked full-back in world football, while Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz (€124 million) and Hugo Ekitike (€118 million) also feature prominently following their moves to Anfield.
Real Madrid place four players inside the top 20, with Mbappé joined by Arda Güler (€125 million), Jude Bellingham (€120 million) and Dean Huijsen (€112 million), highlighting the club’s continued focus on assembling one of the youngest elite squads in Europe.
Barcelona are equally well represented. Alongside Yamal, centre-back Pau Cubarsí (€125 million), midfielder Pedri (€121 million) and Fermín López (€116 million) all make the top 20.
CIES also identified the highest-valued player in each position group. Man City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma leads the goalkeepers, Cubarsí tops the centre-back rankings, O’Reilly is the most valuable wide defender, Pedri ranks highest among central midfielders and Güler leads all attacking midfielders.
Away from the headline names, one of the most striking developments concerns RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomandé. The 19-year-old recorded the largest increase in value since January, rising by €75 million to reach €119 million. Over an adjusted 12-month period, that figure has grown €116 million since June 2025.
At the other end of the scale, Liverpool striker Alexander Isak suffered the biggest decline since January, with his estimated value falling by €54 million to €41 million.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham recorded the largest year-on-year drop among elite players. The England midfielder remains one of the most valuable footballers in the game, but his valuation has fallen by €113 million compared to June 2025.
While transfer valuations are always open to debate, the latest CIES rankings reinforce a growing reality within football’s transfer market: youth, long-term contracts and future potential are increasingly valued as highly as immediate performance.
Right now, no player embodies that trend more than Yamal. At just 18 years old, the Barcelona star is not only football’s brightest young talent – he is, according to CIES, the most valuable player in history.
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