
Why it would cost £340m to buy Barcelona's Yamal
Yamal played a key role in Spain's Euro 2024 success - winning young player of the tournament and goal of the tournament - as well as lifting two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey with Barcelona.He won last year's Golden Boy award, given to the best player in Europe aged under 21.The six-year deal he signed with the Catalan club last week includes a one billion euro buy-out clause."This extraordinary figure is linked to equally extraordinary performances achieved at an age - 18 in July - when most players, even the best, are just starting out at professional level," the observatory said.The researchers work out the values of players using a statistical model it has created based on thousands of transactions over the past decade.Yamal's value was increased by having recently signed the new contract.
Haaland, Bellingham & Mbappe: yours for £559m
Yamal, who turns 18 in July, is valued at £140m more than Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, 24 - who is in second place at €240m (£200m)Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham is the most valuable England player on the list at €234m (£197m) with team-mate Kylian Mbappe landing a valuation of €193m (£162m).Making up the top five is Bayern Munich and Germany forward Jamal Musiala, with a value of €155m (£130m).The highest-value defender on the list is Barcelona teenager Pau Cubarsi at €118m (£99m) while Brighton's Bart Verbruggen is listed as the goalkeeper that would command the highest fee - €64m (£54m).
Wirtz to Garnacho: Who could move this summer?
The 10th player on the list is Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, who looks set to join Premier League champions Liverpool for what is expected to become a new British record transfer fee.The formula values him at €122m (£103m), which is lower than the Reds are reportedly set to pay to Bayer Leverkusen.Alejandro Garnacho has been told he can leave Manchester United by boss Ruben Amorim and, according to CIES Football Observatory, the Argentina winger could command a fee in the region of €63m (£53m).Liverpool received some money, £8.4m, from Real Madrid for Trent Alexander-Arnold - but nowhere his value of €69m (£58m) if he was not approaching the end of his contract.Manchester City have agreed a €55m (£46m) fee with AC Milan for Serie A midfielder of the season Tijjani Reijnders - and the formula suggests City have got a bargain, with him valued at €78m (£65m) in the study.Paris St-Germain winger Desire Doue, player of the match performance in the 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, is valued at €109m (£91m).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South Wales Guardian
30 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Lauren James set for spell on sidelines with ankle injury
James limped out of the final against world champions Spain four minutes before half-time after fighting to be fit to start the game following the damaged she suffered during the semi-final victory over Italy. Now the 23-year-old's club has confirmed she faces a spell on the sidelines, although they have not specified how long she is expected to be out. An injury update on Lauren James. ℹ️ — (C)helsea FC Women 🏆🏆🏆 (@ChelseaFCW) August 20, 2025 A statement on the club's official website said: 'Chelsea can confirm Lauren James sustained an injury while on international duty with England at Euro 2025 and will be sidelined for a period of time. 'The Blues forward helped the Lionesses win the tournament – starting four matches, including the final against Spain, and scoring twice – but sustained an injury en route to England being crowned European champions. 'James is now back with Chelsea and will undergo a period of rehabilitation with the club.' James played a key role for Chelsea last season, helping the club to win a domestic treble and reach the Champions League semi-finals, in the process earning herself a share of the Player of the Year trophy with international team-mate Alessia Russo at the Women's Football Awards.


South Wales Guardian
31 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
England coach John Mitchell: Being World Cup favourites is irrelevant to us
The Red Roses kick off this year's World Cup at the Stadium of Light against the United States on Friday and also face Samoa and Australia in Pool A. England enter the tournament ranked number one in the world, but head coach Mitchell believes talk of being favourites is 'irrelevant'. When asked what challenges that title presents, Mitchell replied: 'It doesn't really matter. We start the tournament equal like everyone else. 'Being favourites is irrelevant to us. It might be relevant to your section of the world. We've just got to be where our feet are and earn the right each week.' England are currently on a 27-game winning run and recorded warm-up victories against Spain and France earlier this month. Friday's opponents the USA are ranked 10th in the world and Mitchell believes that while his side are likely to be 'hunted' by teams during the tournament, they are ready to embrace that. 'It's really important to basically focus on ourselves,' he said. 'We understand their threats – it's not that we don't look at their threats – but ultimately at the end of the day it's really important to focus on what we do and how we improve our margins, make sure that we perform above our standards. 'I'm sure if we take care of that, then that will take care of the threats. 'Every team will rise 10 or 15 per cent in this tournament because they're playing against England, that's just what we expect. 'From that point of view, we realise we're hunted but we also look forward to that as well.' Mitchell has named the same starting 15 from the 40-6 warm-up victory over France for the opening game. Skipper Zoe Aldcroft leads the squad at blindside flanker, with number eight Alex Matthews and openside Sadia Kabeya alongside her in the back row and Abbie Ward and Morwenna Talling lining up in the second row. Hannah Botterman, Amy Cokayne and Maud Muir complete the forwards. Here we go 🌹 John Mitchell has named his Red Roses to face the USA in our #RWC2025 opener 👇#WearTheRose | #RedRoses — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) August 20, 2025 Vice-captain Megan Jones continues at centre alongside Tatyana Heard, while Jess Breach, Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne make up the back three, Natasha Hunt starts at scrum-half and Zoe Harrison is at fly-half. World Cup debutants Kelsey Clifford, Maddie Feaunati and Emma Sing are named as replacements and veteran Emily Scarratt is also on the bench. Speaking about team selection, Mitchell added: 'Ultimately, we've tried to build cohesion. We've come out of a pre-season, we're not like the Southern Hemisphere teams which have had a lot of rugby. 'We're just building, so it's really important to make sure that you create combinations that players are familiar with. 'We do have history together in the squad that's selected, a number of minutes over the last three years – I think something like 1200 caps amongst that group of girls. 'That's a lot of experience and a lot of belief. You've got to play those cards in a tournament like this.' USA Women's Eagles ready to kick off the 2025 @rugbyworldcup 🦅 📺 Catch the action live on @paramountplus — USA Rugby (@USARugby) August 20, 2025 The USA have also named their team for the match, with 11 players set to make their World Cup debuts overall. Ilona Maher, Keia Mae Sagapolu, Tahlia Brody and Emily Henrich are the four debutants in the starting line-up, with seven others looking to make an impact off the bench.


The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lauren James set for spell on sidelines with ankle injury
Chelsea forward Lauren James will be sidelined for 'a period of time' by the ankle injury she suffered during England's victorious Euro 2025 campaign. James limped out of the final against world champions Spain four minutes before half-time after fighting to be fit to start the game following the damaged she suffered during the semi-final victory over Italy. Now the 23-year-old's club has confirmed she faces a spell on the sidelines, although they have not specified how long she is expected to be out. A statement on the club's official website said: 'Chelsea can confirm Lauren James sustained an injury while on international duty with England at Euro 2025 and will be sidelined for a period of time. 'The Blues forward helped the Lionesses win the tournament – starting four matches, including the final against Spain, and scoring twice – but sustained an injury en route to England being crowned European champions. 'James is now back with Chelsea and will undergo a period of rehabilitation with the club.' James played a key role for Chelsea last season, helping the club to win a domestic treble and reach the Champions League semi-finals, in the process earning herself a share of the Player of the Year trophy with international team-mate Alessia Russo at the Women's Football Awards.