What are the highest World Cup team values at Qatar 2022? Where does the USMNT rank? Read on.
It may be your feeling that Lionel Messi remains the single best footballer on earthplanet. You may be fully aboard the Karim Benzema hype train thanks to his mid-30s Ballon d’Or renaissance. Alternatively, you could be a total hipster with a tattoo of, like, Jack Grealish or Bukayo Saka on your hind parts.
And then there’s Ronaldo. No, we don’t have to talk about Ronaldo.
That brings us to an intriguing topic, however — with international soccer’s January transfer window opening up just two weeks after the conclusion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which stars of the game are poised to reveal themselves as undervalued assets on the open market? Alternatively, who’s increasingly getting by on the strength of their name with less and less sheer virtuosity to back it up?
With that in mind, we checked in with Transfermarkt’s extensive compendium of estimated player values to get a sense of who the most expensive World Cup teams truly are here and now in 2022.
(No, the USMNT is sadly not No. 1 — but they’re not dead-last in the field of 32, either!)
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World Cup Team Values: Qatar 2022
World Cup squad values are based on Transfermarkt’s combined estimated player market values. Teams are not necessarily limited to 26-man 2022 World Cup rosters.
€1,000,000,000 and above
1. ENGLAND: €1.26 billion ($1.31B)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Manchester City CM Phil Foden (€110,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Tottenham ST Harry Kane (€90,000,000)
- Most valuable midfielder: Foden
- Most valuable defender: Liverpool RB Trent Alexander-Arnold (€70,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Arsenal G Aaron Ramsdale (€30,000,000)
2. BRAZIL: €1.14 billion ($1.18B)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Real Madrid LW Vinicius Junior (€120,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Vinicius
- Most valuable midfielder: Newcastle CDM Bruno Guimarães (€60,000,000)
- Most valuable defender: Paris Saint-Germain CB Marquinhos (€70,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Liverpool G Alisson (€50,000,000)
3. FRANCE: €1.08 billion ($1.12B)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Paris Saint-Germain ST Kylian Mbappé (€160,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Mbappé
- Most valuable midfielder: Real Madrid CDM Aurélien Tchouameni (€80,000,000)
- Most valuable defender: Barcelona CB Jules Koundé (€60,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: West Ham G Alphonse Areola (€8,000,000)
€750,000,000-€999,999,999
4. PORTUGAL: €937 million ($964.89M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: AC Milan LW Rafael Leão (€85,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Leão
- Most valuable midfielder: Manchester City CAM Bernardo SIlva (€80,000,000)
- Most valuable defender: Manchester City CB Rúben Dias (€75,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Porto G Diogo Costa (€35,000,000)
5. SPAIN: €902 million ($936.57M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Barcelona CM Pedri (€100,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Barcelona LW Ansu Fati (€50,000,000)
- Most valuable midfielder: Pedri
- Most valuable defender: Villareal CB Pau Torres (€50,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Brighton G Robert Sánchez (€32,000,000)
Spain will be without some VERY valuable players at this year’s World Cup 👀 pic.twitter.com/bNhWlDIvJp
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) November 11, 2022
6. GERMANY: €885.5 million ($911.86M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Bayern Munich CAM Jamal Musiala
- Most valuable forward: Bayern Munch LW Leroy Sané (€70,000,000)
- Most valuable midfielder: Musiala
- Most valuable defender: Real Madrid CB Antonio Rudiger (€40,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Barcelona G Marc-André ter Stegen (€30,000,000)
€500,000,000-€749,999,999
7. ARGENTINA: €633.2 million ($652.05M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Inter Milan ST Lautaro Martínez (€75,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Martínez
- Most valuable midfielder: Atlético Madrid CM Rodrigo de Paul (€35,000,000)
- Most valuable defender: Manchester United CB Lisandro Martínez (€50,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Aston Villa G Emiliano Martínez (€25,000,000)
8. NETHERLANDS: €587.25 million ($604.73M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Bayern Munich CB Matthijs de Ligt (€70,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: PSV Eindhoven LW Cody Gakpo (€45,000,000)
- Most valuable midfielder: Barcelona CM Frenkie de Jong (€50,000,000)
- Most valuable defender: de Ligt
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Feyenoord G Justin Bijlow (€13,000,000)
9. BELGIUM: €563.2 million ($579.97M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Manchester City CM Kevin De Bruyne (€80,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Inter Milan ST Romelu Lukaku (€55,000,000)
- Most valuable midfielder: De Bruyne
- Most valuable defender: Leicester City RB Timothy Castagne (€28,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Real Madrid G Thibaut Courtois (€60,000,000)
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€250,000,000-€499,999,999
10. URUGUAY: €449.7 million ($463.09M)
- MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Real Madrid CM Federico Valverde (€100,000,000)
- Most valuable forward: Liverpool ST Darwin Núñez (€70,000,000)
- Most valuable midfielder: Valverde
- Most valuable defender: Barcelona CB Ronald Araújo (€60,000,000)
- Most valuable goalkeeper: Nacional G Sergio Rochet (€4,000,000)
11. CROATIA: €377 million
12. SERBIA: €359.5 million
13. DENMARK: €353 million
14. SENEGAL: €288 million
15. SWITZERLAND: €281 million
16. USA: €277.4 million
17. POLAND: €255.6 million
18. MOROCCO: €251.1 million
Below €250,000,000
19. SENEGAL: €229.5 million
20. GHANA: €216.9 million
21. CANADA: €187.3 million
22. MEXICO: €176.1 million
23. SOUTH KOREA: €164.48 million
24. WALES: €160.15 million
25. CAMEROON: €155 million
26. JAPAN: €154 million
27. ECUADOR: €146.5 million
28. TUNISIA: €62.4 million
29. IRAN: €59.53 million
30. AUSTRALIA: €38.34 million
31. SAUDI ARABIA: €25.2 million
32. QATAR: €14.9 million
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