Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr sees his value increase: who is the most valuable player in the world?

Vinicius Jr is already eating at the top table of world football. In fact, since he has another Champions League final goal and a potential Ballon d’Or under his belt, it would not be too much to say that the table, more any of the other occupants, belongs to him.

Vini’s season at Real Madrid, with 24 goals, has put him in pole position in a race that has not yet been decided: both the upcoming Euros and Copa América will certainly have an effect on which box people put their ‘X’ in when the time comes to vote.

Who is the most valuable soccer player in the world?

But the tide is swinging more and more towards Vinicius Jr, putting him firmly in the group of the most valuable players in the world. The latest indicator is that of Transfermarkt, a well-known website for statistics and economic valuations in soccer: the site has, now the season is over, revised its transfer values of the top talent in Europe.

This update has hugely benefitted the Brazilian’s situation, who has seen his value shoot through the roof: Vinicius has gone from being worth €150 million to €180m ($161m to $193m), which puts him on the highest rung of the ladder.

He is tied at the top with two teammates, one who has already starred alongside him this season in Bellingham ($191m), and another who will be sharing a locker with him next year: Kylian Mbappé, also with the same value.

Alongside the three merengues, Erling Haaland, who plies his trade at Manchester City, completes the top 4. None of the three mentioned have seen their valuation skyrocket like that of the Brazilian, who is in a league of his own. All four players are the key names in the hat for major titles and individual awards.

However, Vinicius, despite his youth (23-years-old), is already ahead in this respect: none of the four have ever won the Ballon d’Or and in the Champions League the Brazilian already has two, compared to Bellingham and Haaland, who have one each. Mbappé has yet to add the elusive European title to his fireplace at home, which is one of the main reasons why he has left PSG to join the Spanish side.

Vinicius is the ideal example of Real Madrid’s insane squad valuation, but he is not the only one: Real Madrid’s squad has seen a significant rise in the change of Transfermarkt valuations, owing to the Liga-Champions League double: Lunin ($27 million), Mendy ($24m), Tchouaméni ($107m), Valverde ($129m), Camavinga ($107m), Brahim ($43m), Güler ($32m), Rodrygo ($118m) and Vinicius ($193m) have all risen in their valuations.

And the Madrid dominance in the list of most valuable players is remarkable: apart from occupying three of the first four positions, four of the Top 10 are also theirs (Valverde is 8th) and seven among the top 16 (Rodrygo is 12th while Camavinga and Tchouaméni share 15th). Barça, the main competitor in Spain, sit far behind in this race: their most valuable players with Lamine Yamal and Gavi, both with $96 million, share 19th place.