Ronaldo stays level
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Transfermarkt has updated the market values of 474 Saudi Pro League players. While superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s valuation remains unchanged at 12 million euros, there are some changes in the ranking of the most valuable players – despite a loss of 5 million to 40 million euros, Mateo Retegui from Al-Qadsiah remains at the top.
“Retegui is certainly the best-known newcomer in the league recently,” says Tiberius Radziejewski, Area Manager Asia at Transfermarkt. “After a phenomenal season in Bergamo, he moved to Saudi Arabia and has made a solid start to the season.” Retegui scored eight goals and provided one assist for his team in 12 games across all competitions. Nevertheless, his market value had to be adjusted downwards because he no longer plays in one of Europe’s top leagues.
Despite the devaluation, Retegui remains the most valuable player because Darwin Núñez from Al-Hilal has recorded a loss of 10 million euros to 35 million euros. “Núñez moved to the Saudi Pro League after a rather disappointing season in the EPL,” explains Radziejewski. “He is on the verge of surpassing his goal tally from last season, but has recently been sidelined by minor injuries. Unlike Mateo, who has spoken positively about his host country, Darwin is said to be unhappy in the Kingdom, prompting rumors of a move.” Since a high transfer fee is unlikely, Núñez’s market value had to be reduced more drastically than Retegui’s.
Market values Saudi Pro League: Minus for Hernández, Coman and Diaby
Núñez’s teammate at Al-Hilal, Theo Hernández, is another former European star whose market value has fallen. “Although his performances have been excellent, his international importance has declined and recent transfer windows suggest that his transfer value potential is currently limited,” attests Radziejewski. In Hernández’s market value there is a decrease of 7 million to 28 million euros.
The same applies to three other French players from the Équipe Tricolore orbit: Kingsley Coman (Al-Nassr), Moussa Diaby (Al-Ittihad) and Enzo Millot (Al-Ahli). “Coman has also stood out in his rival Al-Nassr’s almost perfect season so far,” said Radziejewski, but since the former Munich player no longer plays in a top league, a downgrade by 8 million euros to 22 million euros was inevitable. The same applies to Diaby, whose market value has fallen by 2 million euros to 28 million euros. “In contrast to Coman, he has no longer been an option for national coach Deschamps since his 60 million euro move to Al-Ittihad. After a phenomenal debut season, he and his team are now struggling.”
Ex-Stuttgart Millot has also fallen to 28 million euros. “After being linked with several top clubs, the 23-year-old finally decided to move to Al-Ahli. After a poor start to the season, his market value was slightly adjusted as he left one of the top four leagues.”
Market value plus for Félix: Transfer paid off for Al-Nassr
However, there are also winners among the big names formerly active in Europe as a result of the update. After several downgrades in a row, João Félix’s market value was increased again for the first time since March 2022 (+5 to 25 million euros).
“He is the league’s top scorer with 11 goals and three assists, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, and is on track to surpass his breakthrough season six years ago, before his €127 million transfer,” says Radziejewski, continuing: “The signing of Félix alongside coach Jorge Jesus could be the final piece of the puzzle Al-Nassr needs to claim their long-awaited first title since Ronaldo’s arrival. Jesus puts the Portuguese as second tip – his favorite position in which he can shine as both a goalscorer and a playmaker. He enjoys a lot of freedom and at the same time contributes significantly to winning the ball. After several seasons with setbacks, this transfer has paid off for the player and the club.
There are currently two devaluations for the trio from Germany active in the Saudi Pro League: While Koray Günter from Al-Okhdood Club is still valued at 700,000 euros, his teammate Gökhan Gül has recorded a loss of 200,000 to now 1.5 million euros. Both came to Saudi Arabia last summer from Italy and Turkey respectively. The same applies to former national player Julian Weigl, who moved from Mönchengladbach to Al-Qadsiah on Deadline Day in September for a fee of €8 million. The midfielder has since made eight appearances and one assist, and his market value has fallen from 6 million to 5 million euros.
This is how transfer market market values work
The transfer market market values are created taking into account various pricing models as well as a strong involvement of the transfer market community, which deals with the values in detailed discussions. The transfer market market values cannot generally be equated with the transfer fees actually paid.
The goal is not to predict a price, but rather an expected value. When determining the market value, both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant to a certain extent. Examples of this are listed here. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (for detailed market value definition).