Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has been named the most valuable player in the world, with an estimated transfer value of €343 million, according to the latest figures released by the Football Observatory of the International Centre for Sports Studies.
The rankings, published on Tuesday, place the Spanish teenager well clear of two of the game’s most prolific scorers.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is valued at €255m, while Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé is listed at €201m, despite both enjoying sustained success at the highest level.
The CIES study forms part of its annual top-100 list of global transfer values, a dataset that blends performance metrics, age, contract length and club status to estimate market worth.
Yamal’s commanding position reflects not only his impact at Barcelona but also the premium attached to elite young talent with long-term potential.
France is strongly represented among the top ten, with Michael Olise placed fifth at €137m and Désiré Doué ranked seventh with a valuation of €135m.
Doué sits just ahead of his Paris Saint-Germain teammate João Neves, who is valued at €131m in eighth place.
The rest of the leading group is made up of a blend of established stars and emerging prospects.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham occupies fourth position, underlining his growing stature at the Spanish giants, while Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz is sixth.
Turkish international Arda Güler, also at Real Madrid, comes in ninth, with Barcelona’s Pedri González completing the top ten.
Beyond Europe’s traditional powerhouses, the report highlights the most valuable players operating outside the continent’s so-called big five leagues.
Palmeiras striker Vitor Roque leads that category with a valuation of €85m, ahead of Porto’s Samu Aghehowa at €76m and Sporting CP winger Geovany Quenda, already owned by Chelsea, at €70m.
The data also illustrates how market dynamics continue to favour youth and long-term contracts, often placing younger players ahead of older, more prolific goalscorers in monetary terms.
Yamal’s ranking above Haaland and Mbappé serves as a striking example of that trend, with age and future potential playing a decisive role in the calculations.
The International Centre for Sports Studies, based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, is an independent research organisation specialising in statistical analysis of football.
Through its Football Observatory, it regularly publishes reports on transfer values, squad composition and market trends, providing a snapshot of how the global game’s economy is evolving.
For Barcelona, Yamal’s position at the top of the list offers further confirmation of his standing among the world’s elite, even at such an early stage of his career.
For the wider football market, the figures underline the growing financial weight attached to teenage prodigies in an increasingly competitive transfer landscape.
