October 2 – In what other business could your value to an employer go up by over €50 million in just three months, doing exactly the same job you were doing three months earlier? And if you are to be valued at that level, and you are an asset rather than an employee, wouldn’t the smart business person cash in on that value?
Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United’s can’t-stop-scoring striker has seen his value rise by an astonishing €56 million to €158.5 million from August 1 to October 1, according to the CIES Football Observatory database of players’ transfer value.
Kylian Mbappé’s value to PSG has risen €50 million, while the world’s most expensive-ever footballer Neymar is worth €239.6 million according to CIES calculations – perhaps PSG did good business after all.
The CIES data ranks Europe’s top players by increase in value since the start of the season. Five Premier League players make the Top 10 with Lukaku ranked top, Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mohammed Salah (5th and 9th), Man Utd’s Markus Rashford (7th) and Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne (8th).
CIES point out that percentage increases are greatest for younger player. “In relative terms, the increase was above 100% for many young and promising players. Among them notably are Patrick Cutrone (Milan), Adama Diakhaby (Monaco) and Dennis Geiger (Hoffenheim).”
View the CIES calculation methodology at http://www.football-observatory.com/-Ratings-eng-
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