DFB level with Argentina
©TM/IMAGO
Tens of thousands of footballers received new market values on Transfermarkt 2025 during four update intervals. To be among the 100 most valuable today, a market value of 55 million euros is required – at the end of 2024 only 89 footballers reached this mark. The top 100 come from 26 countries on four continents and play in six leagues with 24 clubs. The Bundesliga is represented nine times by professionals from FC Bayern and BVB.
The fact that there are only nine is because the top German league has Omar Marmoush (Man City), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool), Benjamin Sesko (Man United), Xavi Simons (Tottenham) and Nick Woltemade (Newcastle) have lost some of their most valuable players to England. This sextet is now one of the 51 Premier League professionals who make up the top 100 most valuable footballers in the world.
FC Bayern is represented in this ranking seven times – including the German national players Jamal Musiala and Aleksandar Pavlovic as well as newcomer Lennart Karl. Borussia Dortmund has DFB players Karim Adeyemi and Nico Schlotterbeck, who are there for the first time at the beginning of the year. In addition to Wirtz and Woltemade, the 100 most valuable also include Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, who complete the German octet.
100 most valuable players: Four countries represented more often than Germany
In an international comparison, only four nations have more footballers than Germany, which is on a par with Argentina: England (14 players), Spain (13), France (12) and Brazil (9). 17 nations are represented single or double, such as Colombia with Bayern Munich’s Luis Díaz, Turkey with Real Madrid’s Arda Güler and Juventus striker Kenan Yıldız or Nigeria with Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen.
For the clubs with the most professionals from the top 100, things are even tighter at the top. The eight most valuable squads in the world have 65 players under contract with a market value of at least 55 million euros. Most of them are at Real Madrid and Arsenal with ten each, followed by PSG (9), Barça (8), Manchester City (8), Bayern Munich (7), Liverpool (7) and Chelsea (6).
51 of the 100 most valuable footballers play in the Premier League, which dwarfs the other four top five leagues with a total market value of €12.53 billion. LaLiga (5.45 billion) with the heavyweights Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has 22 of the 100 most valuable players, Ligue 1 (3.79 billion) has nine players thanks to PSG, the Bundesliga (4.81 billion) also has nine players and Serie A (5.32 billion) is represented eight times. Galatasaray’s Osimhen is the only footballer outside Europe’s big five leagues to make it into the top 100.
New trio at the top – Vini Jr. loses podium place
In the Süper Lig, the Nigerian attacker sets a record with his market value of 75 million euros – in an international comparison, it is enough for 36th place. For the world’s best, 200 million euros are needed at the turn of the year, just as in previous years. While the 2024 only Man Citys Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid, this time three players share the title of most valuable footballer: Vini Jr. has said goodbye to the top with a market value of 150 million euros, but his teammate is in favor Kylian Mbappe and Barcas Lamine Yamal moved up.
The circle of footballers with a market value of 100 million euros or more has expanded from 17 to 19 in 2025. Real Madrid is most frequently represented here with four professionals, ahead of PSG (3), Barça (2), Liverpool (2), Arsenal (2), Chelsea (2) and FC Bayern (2). There have been devaluations for the two most valuable Germans in market value history in the past twelve months: Wirtz, who is still looking for his top form after his Liverpool transfer, fell from 140 million to 110 million euros and the one who has been injured since July Jamal Musiala from 140 million to 130 million euros. The justifications for the You can find market value changes for the individual leagues here.