Bellingham most expensive in the world

Bellingham moved from Dortmund to Real Madrid in the summer of 2023 for a transfer fee of 144 million USD, but his value has more than doubled after one season. In the January 2024 update, Bellingham was valued at about 293 million USD by CIES, also the highest in the world.

This season, Bellingham has 23 goals and 12 assists in 41 matches in all competitions, helping Real win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. The English midfielder is aiming for a third title when Real will play his former club Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1.

In La Liga alone, Bellingham scored 19 goals and assisted 6 in 28 matches. Thanks to that, the 20-year-old midfielder surpassed teammate Vinicius, along with Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Artem Dovbyk (Girona) and Robert Lewandowski (Barca) to be voted the best player of La Liga in the 2023-2024 season.

"I would like to dedicate this individual award to my teammates, the coaching staff and most importantly the fans of the greatest club in the world. It is a great honour to play for Real. Hala Madrid," Bellingham said when receiving the award.

CIES, founded in 1995, is an international sports research center, in cooperation with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). They built a statistical model to try to predict the correct transfer fee for players, based on many factors, importantly ability, remaining contract time and age.

The second most valuable player in the world, according to CIES, is Man City's Erling Haaland at $276 million. The Norwegian striker won the Premier League Golden Boot with 27 goals this season, helping Man City win a record four consecutive titles.

Following are Real's duo Vinicius with $260 million and Rodrygo with $239 million. Phil Foden, the best player in the Premier League in the 2023-2024 season, is the fifth most valuable player in the world with $220 million.

The remaining most expensive players in the top 10 are Bukayo Saka ($211 million), Julian Alvarez ($182), Lamine Yamal ($152), Martin Odegaard ($146) and Florian Wirtz ($144). Wirtz is one of only three players currently playing in Germany to make the top 20, alongside Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala ($130 million) and Xavi Simons, who is on loan at RB Leipzig from PSG ($120).

Of the top five European leagues, Serie A and Ligue 1 have the fewest top-tier players. The highest-valued player in France’s top flight is PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery, who is worth $115 million, ranking 21st. Serie A is even less impressive, with Milan’s Rafael Leao, who is 31st, worth $108 million.

The most valuable player not playing in Europe is Palmeiras' 17-year-old striker Endrick Felipe, valued at $99.5 million. Endrick was the most expensive 16-year-old of all time when he was signed by Real Madrid for $76 million. He will only play for Real from the 2024-2025 season, when he turns 18.