Borussia Dortmund playmaker Jude Bellingham has emerged as the most expensive player going to the World Cup, shooting England to the top of the list of most expensive squads in the tournament.
A study by the CIES Football Observatory has shown that the England youngster is the most expensive player going to the tournament in Qatar. His price tag has made the Three Lions the most expensive squad in the tournament.
While Jude Bellingham is reportedly valued at £176.88m, the Three Lions of England is valued at £1.31billion, £400million better than Brazil national team, that is valued at £1.27billion.
Gareth Southgate’s squad, dominated by Premier League players, is said to be two-and-a-half times more expensive than Argentina, which is valued at £655million.
They are eight times more valuable than Wales at £158.5million and 65 times more than Costa Rica at £20.4million.
Other top-valued countries include France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany with £1.17billion, £1.05billion, £1.01billion, and £893.18billion in value, respectively.
In the players’ ranking, Jude Bellingham is at the top with a price tag of £176.88million followed by Vinicius junior of Brazil and Real Madrid with 176.01million.
Kylian Mbappe and Pedri are other top-valued players in the World Cup with price tags of £162million and £138.36million respectively.
Other high-ranking players on the list are Pedri Gonzalez of Spain and Barcelona, Jamal Musiala of Germany and Bayern Munich, and Federico Valverde of Uruguay and Real Madrid.
Pedro Gonzales is pecked at £138.36million, Jamal Musiala £132.23million, and Valverde £107.71.
England’s estimated combined price tags weigh in ahead of tournament favorites Brazil, France, and Spain
Other European powerhouses who have mobbed good positions in the ranking include Portugal (£1.01bn), Germany (£893.2m), and the Netherlands (£662m).
They all exceed another top favorite from South America, Argentina (£516.7m) – despite Inter forward Lautaro Martinez being priced at a cool £86.7m.
England neighbors Wales ranks 23rd out of the 32 teams at just £158.m, which is less than eight times the value of their British counterparts – with Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson registering a team-high £22.8m valuation.
Rocking the bottom of the scale is Costa Rica’s with merely £20.1m – which could be snapped up 65 times less than England’s squad.
Value ratings and World Cup chances
England is the most expensive squad going into the World Cup. Hardly will this rating translate into a superior performance in the tournament.
Although the Three Lions are expected to qualify from their Group and possibly win the Group, they are not among the top favorites to win the competition.
The likes of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, and Spain enjoy a pride of place as top favorites to win the tournament in Qatar.
However, with world-class midfielders like Jude Bellingham in the squad and Harry Kane, the Three Lions are not expected to chicken out of the competition quickly .
