With the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly having been dismantled by Father Time, a new wave of superstars has emerged over recent years,
With their ascent have come blockbuster transfers and unmanageable hype as a fresh era commences, with 2025 having seen an array of world-beaters continue their glistening careers.
The CIES Football Observatory has undertaken the challenging assignment of valuing world football’s current superstars—a range of factors influencing the estimates, including age, contract length and, of course, ability.
With that in mind, these are the 10 highest-valued players right now based on the findings.
10. Nick Woltemade
Club: Newcastle United
Age: 23
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £112.5 million ($151.9 million)
Newcastle United splashed £69 million on Nick Woltemade last summer inclusive of add-ons, but the towering Germany international is estimated to be worth an extra £43.5 million already—perhaps owing to an impressive start to life on Tyneside.
At just 23 years old, Woltemade was signed from Stuttgart as an Alexander Isak replacement and the forward’s output has caught the eye since his summer switch. He’s found the net regularly since trading Germany for England, taking little time to justify his enormous price tag.
Woltemade is certainly not the finished article just yet, but such potential only adds to his value. Whether through his goals or another mammoth sale similar to Isak’s, Woltemade will reward Newcastle for their faith.
9. Estêvão
Club: Chelsea
Age: 18
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £113.4 million ($153.1 million)
Few phenoms can match the dazzle of Estêvão.
Chelsea fans were made to wait for their first proper glimpses of the twinkle-toed teenager, who only teamed up with the Blues after they were crowned world champions last summer, but the Brazilian was well worth the delay.
While yet to announce himself as a Chelsea regular, the 18-year-old has provided countless glimpses of his world-conquering potential, most notably stealing the show during his side’s 3–0 Champions League win over Barcelona in November.
With searing speed and astonishing agility in tight spaces, the sky is the limit for the precocious forward.
8. Morgan Rogers
Club: Aston Villa
Age: 23
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £113.4 million ($153.1 million)
Aston Villa’s impressive 2025 would not have been possible without Morgan Rogers. The Englishman has stood tallest in a well-organised and increasingly talented team, regularly supplying stunning strikes and invaluable creativity whether operating as an attacking midfielder or winger.
Rogers is another who slipped through the cracks within Manchester City’s academy, finding joy in the lower divisions before his switch to Villa Park. He took no time adjusting to the top flight and has since become not only an England international, but one of Europe’s elite attacking players.
A top estimated value of £113.4 million is well-earned after an astonishing rise with Villa. He provided Unai Emery’s side with 27 goal contributions last season and is on course to match that total in 2025–26.
7. Julián Alvarez
Club: Atlético Madrid
Age: 25
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £117.8 million ($158.9 million)
Desperate to free himself from Erling Haaland’s shadow at Man City, Julián Alvarez made the brave move from guaranteed success at the Etihad Stadium to less reliable glory at Atlético Madrid. That has been an inspired decision from an individual standpoint.
Alvarez, now the focal point up top, has shone in Spain’s capital, scoring 29 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign. That goalscoring touch has not disappeared this term, either, with the Argentine still a regular finisher for Atléti.
Viewed as a potential heir to Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona, the Catalans would likely need to part ways with a fee of around £118 million according to CIES’s data, but it would be money well spent on one of the world’s elite strikers.
6. Florian Wirtz
Club: Liverpool
Age: 22
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £123.9 million ($167.2 million)
Life has not been easy for Florian Wirtz since his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool, but there can be no doubting the German’s genius. He regularly exhibited his immense technical quality and dynamism during his Bundesliga days, with an expectation that his form will improve with time on Merseyside.
Wirtz is already offering glimpses of that enormous potential and signs that the player who inspired Leverkusen to an unbeaten domestic double in 2023–24 is merely dormant rather than extinct. He will surely merit his colossal price tag in the coming months and years.
The attacking midfielder cost Liverpool £116 million over the summer, including add-ons, and his top valuation is only £123.9 million as per CIES. However, given his brilliance, his value could once again skyrocket in the very near future.
5. Michael Olise
Club: Bayern Munich
Age: 24
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £124.8 million ($168.4 million)
Michael Olise never produced truly astonishing numbers during his time at Crystal Palace, but the talent and potential was always there. Since being incorporated into a stronger, more dominant Bayern Munich team, the French maestro has been unstoppable.
35 goal contributions marked an incredible debut campaign in 2024–25 and Olise looks destined to obliterate that tally this season, with more domestic silverware and perhaps even European glory on the way for the versatile forward.
Olise is considered the fifth-most valuable player in world football right now with a top price tag of £124.8 million and few can argue against him commanding such a fee should he leave Bayern in the future.
4. Désiré Doué
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Age: 20
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £126.5 million (£170.7 million)
Désiré Doué had already been dazzling audiences in France, but the 20-year-old really announced himself to the world in last season’s Champions League final. Two goals and an assist in the showpiece event helped Paris Saint-Germain fire five unanswered strikes past Inter in an all-time European thrashing.
Despite his tender age, Doué is now a France regular and PSG superstar, with levels he is still yet to reach. Whether playing on the right wing or in more central areas, the £43 million (in 2024) forward’s brilliance is always on show in Luis Enrique’s well-oiled machine.
The 2025 Golden Boy has the potential to rival the game’s greats over the next decade should he continue on his current trajectory, with a transfer valuation of just under £130 million befitting of such a talented phenom.
3. Kylian Mbappé
Club: Real Madrid
Age: 27
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £191.1 million ($257.8 million)
CIES’s top three are cut adrift of their mortal peers, starting with Kylian Mbappé in third place. For many, the Frenchman is the world’s best, his status only elevated since making the move to Real Madrid and scoring a staggering 43 goals for the Spanish giants in his debut season.
Mbappé has been similarly proficient this term despite the overwhelming struggles of Xabi Alonso’s Madrid, seemingly set to somehow improve his outrageous output in 2025–26. If the World Cup winner was 21-years-old rather than 27, his valuation would be significantly higher.
But, as it stands, he’s worth a maximum of £191.1 million according to CIES, over £100 million less than first place. If we were talking about pure talent, there may be nobody more precious than Mbappé—just ask Madridistas.
2. Erling Haaland
Club: Manchester City
Age: 25
Top Estimated Transfer Value: £242.5 million ($327.3 million)
Coming in at around £50 million more than Mbappé is the equally prolific sharpshooter two years his junior: Erling Haaland. Alongside the aforementioned Frenchman, and veteran goal-getter Harry Kane, the Norway international is the leading striker in world football.
Haaland instantly set about demolishing every Premier League goalscoring record and has made incredible progress en-route to legendary status. Speedy, imperious and devastatingly clinical, he’s the ultimate goalscoring machine.
Despite boasting an array of exceptional attacking weapons, Man City still rely on their Nordic colossus to fire them to glory. He seldom fails to be their difference-maker, deservedly earning a top end valuation of £242.5 million.
1. Lamine Yamal
READ THE LATEST SOCCER NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MATCH REACTION
- Transfer Rumors: Man Utd Rival Liverpool for Barcola; Chelsea’s Bellingham Swap Deal
- MLS Jerseys: Inter Miami’s New Look Among Seven Kits Leaked Ahead of 2026 Season
- Mikel Arteta Teases Kai Havertz Return After Four Months Out
- ‘Possibly’—Ayden Heaven Makes Bold Man Utd Prediction For Second Half of Season
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The 10 Most Valuable Players in the World in 2025—Ranked.
