The concept of inflation is set to join Erik ten Hag and Lionel Messi on Cristiano Ronaldo’s hate list.
Thanks to increasing prices and the boom of European football, football’s all-time top scorer has surprisingly been robbed of his place on El Clasico’s most valuable XI.
Football finance website transfermarkt have put together a combined team of their highest-ever valued players from Real Madrid and Barcelona, but there was no space for the Portuguese.
That’s because Ronaldo’s transfer value peaked at €120million (£96m at the time) in 2014 and newer younger talents have eclipsed it over the past decade as football fees spiral out of control.
Ronaldo was playing for Madrid in 2014 and had just won his second of five Champions League crowns after departing from Manchester United for a then-world record £80million.
He would go on to be the all-time top scorer for arguably the biggest sports team in the world, and later he’d overtake Pele outright in the overall list.
Yet in 2018 he opted to leave the Bernabeu for Juventus, while rival Messi kept plundering in goals and assists for Barcelona at a record rate.
That saw his valuation jump to €180m (£151m), ahead of Ronaldo, which keeps him on the list alongside a number of far more recently emerged talents.
Chiefly among those is Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, who currently shares transfermarket’s all-time record valuation of €200m (£167m) with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
The Brazilian winger was a runner-up in the 2024 Ballon d’Or to City’s Rodri, but at 24 years old and possessing an uncanny ability to step up in big games his value is certainly justified in today’s market, considering a reported £1billion offer from Saudi Arabia.
Two of the players just behind on €180m (£151m) also have bids that justify their price – Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
Mbappe joined Paris Saint-Germain from Monaco in 2017 for £163m, making him the second most expensive player of all time, while Madrid reportedly offered £188m for his services in 2022, before getting him on a free in 2024.
Lamine Yamal has a similar argument for his valuation, with Barcelona vice-president Enric Masip recently claiming the club rejected a £167m offer from PSG in 2024.
There on performances alone is England star midfielder Jude Bellingham who is the third player valued at €180m thanks to his stunning start at the Bernabeu.
The 21-year-old racked up an incredible 23 goals and 13 assists in his debut season and won the Champions League and LaLiga.
This term he’s showing his talent through leadership, earning the utmost respect from renowned AS editor Tomas Roncero who said: “Jude Bellingham is Real Madrid’s biggest star. He’s above Mbappe and Vinicius, that’s how I would put it.
“Right now he is the leader of Real Madrid, he is a footballer who commands the pitch, he is Alfredo Di Stefano, he is Zinedine Zidane. In addition to that elegance, he was born with magic in his boots.”
With Bellingham’s midfield partner Fede Valverde on €130m (£109m), valuations drop as we move into defence, with two players from Messi’s era showing how good they were.
Barca’s Jordi Alba and Madrid’s Raphael Varane are yet to be eclipsed at €80m (£70m at the time), but someone’s making a good fist of it, Pau Cubarsi, who has looked like a seasoned pro since debuting in Catalunya, earning him a €70m (£58m) valuation.
Teammate Jules Kounde slots in at right-back on €60m (£50m), while Marc-Andre ter Stegen is on €90m (£75m), showing just how hamstrung Barca are due to his season-long injury.
