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LONDON. — Kylian Mbappe has been overtaken by Erling Haaland as the world’s most valuable player.
Manchester City goal machine Haaland’s estimated value by German-based football website Transfermarkt has gone up to a whopping €170 million (£148m) as of this month. That makes the Norwegian powerhouse the most expensive player on earth, but also has the added sweetness of seeing him edge past €160m (£140m) rated Paris Saint-Germain phenom Mbappe.
With Haaland and Mbappe being aged 22 and 23 respectively, both are widely considered the present and future of world football. They currently compete at the highest level for their club sides and look set to win a whole host of trophies in the future.
Haaland’s sharp rise in value comes as the striker shatters record after record for City since signing in the summer. His last gasp winner against Fulham on the weekend marked his 23rd of the season already, an astonishing return unmatched by any player in English football.
Mbappe is by no means a slouch himself, with 18 goals and five assists in 19 matches this season. But the Frenchman has boasted similar stats before and is currently being outperformed by teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Luckily for City, they avoided forking out a fortune by securing Haaland’s services for around £85.5m this summer due to a release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract.
PSG had no such luck in 2017 when they paid Monaco €180m (£157m) for the then-teenager, making him the second most expensive player in history after teammate Neymar. Making up the rest of the top five most valuable players are Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr in third, Haaland’s teammate Phil Foden in fourth and Barcelona talisman Pedri in fifth. — The Daily Star
Online Reporter