Mbappe, not Messi most valuable footballer

Lionel Messi has enjoyed another superb season for Barcelona, but the Argentine is far from the most valuable player in Europe according to a new study. He has been placed fourth in a recent study by CIES Football Observatory, while French teenage superstar Kylian Mbappe claims the throne.

Messi was in fantastic form once again for Barcelona this season, scoring a staggering 51 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for the Catalan club.

The Argentine forward also registered an outrageous 18 assists in an age-defying campaign, with the 31-year-old continuing to provide jaw-dropping attacking returns.

However, new research from CIES Football Observatory only ranks Messi as the fourth most expensive footballer currently playing in the ‘big five’ European Leagues.

Using a unique algorithm that takes into account a wide range of variables including age, contract status, position, minutes, goals, international status and team results, the Barca talisman is valued at €167.4million.

This puts Messi fourth on the overall list of transfer values, trailing a couple of Premier League stars after one of the most exciting title races in recent seasons.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s new signing Eden Hazard is ranked 19th with a value of €120.7m after his official unveiling at the Bernabeu.

Reports claim Los Blancos paid £88m for the Belgian, with the fee potentially rising to £150m with add-ons, which would eclipse his estimated value.

Elsewhere, Liverpool ace Virgil van Dijk is ranked just 22nd in Europe despite his stunning campaign at the heart of the Reds defence – but who else makes up the top 100?

The 100 most valuable footballers in Europe

100. Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) – €61.0m

98 (Tied). Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) – €61.3m

98 (Tied). Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) – €61.3m

97. Thilo Kherer (Paris Saint-Germain) – €61.4m

96. Arkdiusz Milik (Napoli) – €61.5m

94 (Tied). Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) – €62.4m

94 (Tied). Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) – €62.4m

93. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain) – €62.5m

92. Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina) – €63.0m

91. Nicolas Pepe (Lille) – €63.3m

90. Houssem Aouar (Lyon) – €63.5m

89. Fabian (Napoli) – €63.8m

88. Diogo Jota (Wolverhampton Wanderers) – €64.0m

87. Lucas Moura (Tottenham Hotspur) – €64.5m

86. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) – €64.9m

85. Arthur (Barcelona) – €65.2m

84. Luke Shaw (Manchester United) – €66.3m

81 (Tied). Luka Jovic (Real Madrid) – €66.4m

81 (Tied). Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham Hotspur) – €66.4m

81 (Tied). Youri Tielemans (Leicester City/Monaco) – €66.4m

80. Koke (Atletico Madrid) – €67.0m

79. Goncalo Guedes (Valencia) – €67.2m

78. Joe Gomez (Liverpool) – €67.8m

77. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) – €67.9m

76. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) – €68.0m

75. Jordan Pickford (Everton) – €68.1m

74. Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma) – €68.3m

72 (Tied). Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) – €68.5

72 (Tied). Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea) – €68.5

71. Declan Rice (West Ham United) – €68.7m

68 (Tied). Naby Keita (Liverpool) – €68.9m

68 (Tied). Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich) – €68.9m

68 (Tied). Piotr Zielinski (Napoli) – €68.9m

66 (Tied). Joao Cancelo (Juventus) – €69.0m

66 (Tied). Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon) – €69.0m

64 (Tied). Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan) – 69.7m

64 (Tied). Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) – 69.7m

63. Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) – €70.1m

62. Matteo Guendouzi (Arsenal) – €70.2m

61. Memphis Depay (Lyon) – €70.3m

60. Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid/Chelsea) – €70.5m

59. Jorginho (Chelsea) – €70.8m

58. Clement Lenglet (Barcelona) – €71.0m

57. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) – €72.1m

56. Kyle Walker (Manchester City) – €74.2m

55. Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid) – €74.8m

54. Alexander Lacazette (Arsenal) – €74.9m

53. Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) – €75.1m

52. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – €75.5m

51. Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool) – €75.8m

50. Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) – €75.9m

49. Lucas Torreira (Arsenal) – €76.0m

48. Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) – €77.2m

47. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) – €77.6m

46. Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus) – €77.8m

45. Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid) – €78.5m

44. Krzysztof Piatek (AC Milan) – €79.2m

43. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – €80.4m

42. Anthony Martial (Manchester United) – €80.8m

41. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) – €81.4m

40. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) – €83.7m

39. John Stones (Manchester City) – €84.2m

38. Luis Suarez (Barcelona) – €85.0m

37. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) – €85.3m

36. Fabinho (Liverpool) – €86.2m

35. Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) – €86.3m

34. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) – €87.2m

33. Rodri (Atletico Madrid) – €88.2m

32. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) – €88.3m

31. Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid) – €93.8m

30. Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) – €95.2m

29. Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) – €97.2m

28. Richarlison (Everton) – €98.6m

27. Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur) – €102.5

26. Ederson (Manchester City) – €103.0m

25. Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) – €105.4m

24. Alisson (Liverpool) – €107.5m

23. Paulo Dybala (Juventus) – €108.2m

22. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – €112.1m

21. Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) – €117.1m

20. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) – €118.1m

19. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) – €120.7m

18. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – €123.5m

17. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) – €124.7m

16. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – €125.1m

15. Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) – €125.2m

14. Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona) – €129.4m

13. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) – €130.2m

12. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) – €130.6m

11. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) – €136.9m

10. Leroy Sane (Manchester City) – €137.1m

9. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) – €143.8m

8. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – €144.2m

7. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – €155.2m

6. Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – €157.8m

5. Jason Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) – €159.4m

4. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – €167.4m

3. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) – €207.8m

2. Mohammed Salah (Liverpool) – €219.6m

1. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) – €252.0m