July 19 – France’s standout forward Kylian Mbappé is the most valuable under 21 player in the world, twice as valuable as England striker Marcus Rashford, according to a new report that values Mbappé at £170.2 million.
The report by Prime Time Sport and titled the ‘Soccerex 20 Under 21 report’ uses Prime Time Sport’s Football Value Index, to rank footballers born on or after 1 January 1997. Mbappé is the first U21 player to be valued over £100 million.
Second-ranked Rashford is valued at £78.9 million, while Manchester City and Brazil striker, Gabriel Jesus is ranked third with a £77.9 million valuation.
The report authors point to a “total combined player values topping €1bn for the first time, a 66% increase on last year’s combined total.”
Rashford is one of three English players in the top 20 ranking, with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold (11) valued at £45.5 million and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon (12) who is valued at £45.5 million.
But the list is dominated by France who have five players in the top 20 – Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona – 4th ranked), Dayot Upamecano (Red Bull Leipzig – 16), Houssem Aoaur (Olympique Lyionnais – 18) and Allan Saint-Maximin (OG Nice – 19).
The North American region has two players represented in the ranking – both playing in the Bundesliga – USA’s Christian Pulisic (8) and Jamaica’s Leon Bailey (9).
Fourteen of the top 20 is made up of European players with Brazil contributing four of the non-European contingent. Other countries represented in the list are Italy (3), Spain (1), The Netherlands (1) and Turkey (1).
Italy and AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma (7) is the only goalkeeper in the top 20, featuring for the third consecutive year.
The authors also point to a shift in the values attributed to positions: “In this year’s report 12 of the top 20 – and 7 of the top 10 – are wide men, although few would be considered wingers in the traditional sense. The majority are forward players who start from wide positions and who are comfortable playing anywhere across the front line.
“This is a change from past reports which have seen the biggest clusters in the more traditional “spine” of central defence, central midfield or the striker position.”
The valuation methodology takes into account the player’s age, position, current club, contract length, market value perception, international caps, minutes played, goals, injuries and “technical quality”.
See the full report at www.soccerex.com/insight/20-under-21
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