Haaland strengthens hold as world’s most valuable footballer as Yamal jumps Mbappe into second

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland remains the world’s most valuable football player following his monster contract extension at the Etihad Stadium while Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has moved into second ahead of Real Madrid ace Kylian Mbappe.

Haaland’s decision to effectively commit the rest of his career to City by signing a nine-year deal has seen his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) spike to a new height.

READ MORE: The world’s most valuable footballers

The 24-year-old superstar is now worth €188.4 million, according to our unique model.

Mbappe has typically found himself on the coattails of Haaland in recent months, with the pair often vying for the top spot, but the Frenchman has seen second place grabbed from him by the ever-improving Lamine Yamal.

The 17-year-old sensation has seen his value climb to an astonishing €155m over the course of the last month. He is not old enough to sign a professional contract with Barcelona, but that is expected to come in the summer when he turns 18, and as such his value could climb higher still.

It is expected that he will have a €1 billion release clause inserted into his new deal.

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Mbappe, who is finally starting to find his feet at Real Madrid after a difficult transition from PSG in the summer, has seen his ETV dip slightly to €146.1m.

It’s another battle between Real Madrid and Barcelona for fourth and fifth spots, with Jude Bellingham comfortably seeing off Pedri in this duel.

Los Blancos have three players in the top 10, with Vinicius Junior coming in ninth with an ETV of €122.4m.

Three Arsenal stars make the top 10

Arsenal also have three players who make this elite group, with Martin Odegaard (€127.5m), Bukayo Saka (€124.4m) and Declan Rice (€120m) all making an impression.

Florian Wirtz, who is eighth and has been linked with a summer transfer to Real Madrid, is the Bayer Leverkusen star who gatecrashes the ranking.

There are a record 14 players who have an ETV of €100m, with Federico Valverde ensuring that Real Madrid are unique by having four players in this illustrious bracket.