Disclaimer: these are estimates.
Football is awash with money. Slightly less than a couple of years ago, what with this pandemic making even the wealthiest clubs slightly less flush with cash, and the clubs at the bottom of the pyramid on the brink of extinction. But the amount of money exchanged between clubs for the hottest talents still makes the eyes water, and more so now than ever before, provokes the sort of misinformed 'pay soldiers/nurses/any public servant footballers' wages!' sentiment on Facebook from people you went to school with.
And to be fair, as misguided as that take is, some of the figures that you see floating around, especially during the transfer window, are sickening. They're obscene, we're just desensitised to it.
Transfer fees don't often adhere to much logic, due to the multitude of factors at play. How much money does the buying club have in the bank? How much do the selling club want? Is the buying club Manchester United? Has Ed Woodward managed to remember his email password? These are the factors that decide a transfer fee - as well as a player's age, their estimated potential, how long remains on their contract, and how much other similar players have gone for in recent times.
But the good people at Transfermarkt have crunched some data and come up with a list of the most valuable players in the Premier League. It's not perfect, obviously, but it's the closest you will get to the truth, which is undefinable unless each of these players is sold at this exact moment in time.
Anyway here are the 20 most valuable players in the Premier League.
20. Timo Werner, Chelsea - £57.6 million
He's just joined Chelsea for around £10m less, so this sounds about right.
19. Heung-min Son, Tottenham - £57.6 million
Four years older than Timo Werner but a more rounded attacker and undoubtedly Tottenham's second most important player.
18. Rodri, Manchester City - £57.6 million
Joined Man City for £63 million just a year ago but a slightly underwhelming first season has apparently seen his market value depreciate.
17. Andy Robertson, Liverpool - £57.6 million
I get the feeling it would take a lot more than this to convince Liverpool to part with Robbo, to be honest. There is a real lack of quality left-backs of his level.
16. Dele Alli, Tottenham - £57.6 million
He's not had his best couple of years and is currently being made a scapegoat by his manager, but his stock price remains high due to his previous form under Mauricio Pochettino and the fact he is still only 24.
15. Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United - £63 million
Again, not sure United would sell for that fee right now but who am I to argue with the data?
14. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool - £64.8 million
He's a very unique player and would be incredibly difficult for Liverpool to replace. Sounds a bit cheap, if I'm honest.
13. Alisson, Liverpool - £64.8 million
He is a very good goalkeeper.
12. Paul Pogba, Manchester United - £72 million
He's got 'back to Juventus for exactly £72 million in 2022' written all over him, to be fair.
11. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool - £72 million
There's very little point in even thinking about the idea of Van Dijk leaving Liverpool. And if he did it would be for more than this.
10. N'Golo Kanté, Chelsea - £72 million
This one actually sounds bang on. He will probably move on from Chelsea soon and given the scarcity of players that can do what he does, command a fee of this size.
9. Bernardo Silva, Manchester City - £72 million
Not hit the form of his 18/19 season for a while but is a sublime talent and at the tender age of 24, would justify a fee this high.
8. Marcus Rashford, Manchester United - £72 million
22 years old, English, fast, skilful - he has all the ingredients to reach the very top of the game. But as United's golden boy, you'd think it would cost a few more million to convince them to sell.
7. Kai Havertz - £72.9 million
You'd think that given he's only just joined Chelsea, off the back of his incredible season at Bayer Leverkusen, his value would have skyrocketed. He wasn't
that bad against Brighton, surely.
6. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool - £99 million
Now we're talking really big money. How is Trent still only 21? It feels like he's been raining crosses in for Sadio Mané for years. Alongside Joshua Kimmich, Trent is the best right-back in the world right now, and will cost an absolute bomb if he ever leaves.
5. Harry Kane, Tottenham, - £108 million
Spurs fans will hate hearing this but it feels like Kane is going to waste his best years at Tottenham. He's one of the best number 9s of the past decade and he's gonna be stuck playing Mourinhoball, if that's even a thing anymore, chasing down long balls until he's 29, by which point Real Madrid might have finally gotten rid of Benzema and will sign Kane, only for his ankle to explode on his debut after years of playing through pain. Makes me sad.
4. Sadio Mané, Liverpool - £108 million
https://twitter.com/ReubenPinder/status/1307735539529986048?s=20
3. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City - £108 million
Best midfielder in the world, bar none.
2. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool - £108 million
Not quite as pleasing on the eye as Mané, for me, Clive, but a ruthlessly efficient goalscorer for Liverpool.
1. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City - £115.2 million
That extra 200k is very specific, isn't it? I personally love that the boy Raheem is top of this list. His transformation from 'hot but wasteful prospect' to absolute goal machine and genuinely world class forward has been brilliant to watch.
