No surprise to see that CIES Football Observatory has Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo as its three most valuable players in the world. What is surprising is that they have Antoine Griezmann, Harry Kane and Anthony Martial all valued ahead of Luis Suarez.
The values of the players are based on several different variables including age, length of current contract and potential suitors. Which is why Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba is valued at only £70m, because his current contract is due to expire in 2019.
Age also plays into the valuation as the likes of Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic do not feature on the list because of their age at 30 and 34 respectively.
Harry Kane has had two brilliant seasons at Spurs, and yes he is still only 22, but is he really worth £87m? Is he worth £25m more than Robert Lewandowski?
Manchester United got hammered for shelling out an initial fee of £36m for 20-year-old Anthony Martial last summer, but he looks like a bargain now as CIES values him now at a staggering £86m.
It will be interesting to compare these valuations to the prices that players go for this summer. Will the CIES be close to the transfer fees paid?