Transfer fees in football spiralled out of control a long time ago - but they’re crazier than ever before these days.
Top players are now going for over £100 million, while Neymar remains the most expensive player of all time following his £198 million move to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017.
Average Premier League footballers are now being sold for over £30 million and the situation doesn’t look like it’ll change any time soon.
However, for a variety of reasons, the market values of certain high-profile players have actually decreased since the beginning of the year.
Transfermarkt.com’s database shows the 50 players in Europe’s top leagues whose market value has decreased the most since January - and there are some surprising names that pop up, including both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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50. Suso | AC Milan
Market value decrease: £9 million (20 %)
Current market value: £36 million
Perhaps people expected the 25-year-old to kick on a little bit further over the past nine months after scoring eight goals for Milan during the 2017/18 campaign.
49. Ciro Immobile | Lazio
Market value decrease: £9 million (20 %)
Current market value: £36 million
The Italian striker only scored 19 goals last term, a significantly lower tally than the 41 he bagged during the previous season.
48. Granit Xhaka | Arsenal
Market value decrease: £9 million (20 %)
Current market value: £36 million
Arsenal’s new club captain has often failed to convince many pundits.
47. Daniel Carvajal | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £9 million (16.7 %)
Current market value: £45 million
Still a fine right-back, but Real Madrid’s unconvincing 2019 has resulted in a decrease for the Spanish right-back.
46. Luis Suarez | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £9 million (16.7 %)
Current market value: £45 million
The 32-year-old Uruguayan remains a top forward but his best years are now behind him.
45. Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £9 million (15.4 %)
Current market value: £49.5 million
Courtois has made too many errors since joining Real Madrid and his reputation (and market value) have suffered.
44. Nabil Fekir | Real Betis
Market value decrease: £9 million (14.3 %)
Current market value: £54 million
No disrespect intended to Real Betis, who are a fantastic club, but everyone expected Fekir to join a huge club in 2018. His final season with Lyon wasn’t amazing and he now plies his trade in Andalusia.
43. Casemiro | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £9 million (14.3 %)
Current market value: £54 million
The Brazilian hasn’t had his best year but is still worth a significant amount of money.
42. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | Lazio
Market value decrease: £9 million (13.3 %)
Current market value: £58.5 million
Linked with a move away from Lazio for the past few years, is the 24-year-old really as good as we all thought he would be?
41. Lorenzo Insigne | Napoli
Market value decrease: £9 million (13.3 %)
Current market value: £58.5 million
Napoli’s diminutive forward has enjoyed a decent 2019, so it’s a little surprising to see his value decrease.
40. Sergio Aguero | Man City
Market value decrease: £9 million (13.3 %)
Current market value: £58.5 million
Aguero turned 31 in June, hence the slight decrease in his market value.
39. Raphael Varane | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £9 million (12.5 %)
Current market value: £63 million
Another player whose market value has suffered because of Real Madrid’s poor year.
38. Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan
Market value decrease: £9 million (11.8 %)
Current market value: £67.5 million
Sold by Manchester United in the summer after failing to convince Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lukaku has scored three goals in seven games for Inter this season.
37. Dele Alli | Tottenham
Market value decrease: £9 million (10 %)
Current market value: £81 million
Dele only scored seven goals in all competitions last season - a far lower tally than 2016/17 (22 goals) and 2017/18 (14 goals).
Now 23 years old, the England midfielder really needs to kick on this season.
36. Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus
Market value decrease: £9 million (10 %)
Current market value: £81 million
By far and away the most expensive 34-year-old in world football, Ronaldo’s value has only decreased slightly because of his advancing years.
35. Lionel Messi | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £9 million (6.3 %)
Current market value: £135 million
Like Ronaldo, 32-year-old Messi’s value has been decreased because of his age.
Still, he remains one of the world’s most expensive players at a whopping £135 million.
34. Islam Slimani | AS Monaco
Market value decrease: £9.9 million (68.8%)
Current market value: £4.5 million
It’s been a nightmare couple of years for Slimani, but the Algerian striker is in the process of getting his career back on track with AS Monaco.
33. Jemerson | AS Monaco
Market value decrease: £10.8 million (66.7 %)
Current market value: £5.4 million
Another big decrease in value, Jemerson is now worth just £5.4 million.
32. Amine Harit | Schalke
Market value decrease: £10.8 million (54.5 %)
Current market value: £9 million
The Moroccan midfielder didn’t enjoy his best season at Schalke last term but has hit the ground running in 2019/20, scoring three goals in six games.
31. Shkodran Mustafi | Arsenal
Market value decrease: £10.8 million (40 %)
Current market value: £16.2 million
Rightly or wrongly, the Germany international is now a bit of a laughing stock among football fans because of the number of defensive errors he makes.
30. Marek Hamsik | Dalian Yifang
Market value decrease: £10.8 million (40 %)
Current market value: £16.2 million
Hamsik has fallen off the radar since leaving Napoli for Chinese club Dalian Yifang earlier this year.
29. Sami Khedira | Juventus
Market value decrease: £11.7 million (65 %)
Current market value: £6.3 million
Khedira, who turns 33 later this season, is now in the autumn of his career.
28. Kevin Strootman | Marseille
Market value decrease: £11.7 million (52 %)
Current market value: £10.8 million
Left AS Roma for Marseille last year and his market value has been slashed by over half.
27. Cesc Fabregas | AS Monaco
Market value decrease: £11.7 million (52 %)
Current market value: £10.8 million
The 32-year-old's start to life at Monaco hasn't been particularly positive.
26. Andre Silva | Eintracht Frankfurt
Market value decrease: £11.7 million (37.1 %)
Current market value: £19.8 million
The once highly-rated Portuguese striker is on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt from AC Milan.
25. Marcos Alonso | Chelsea
Market value decrease: £11.7 million (28.9 %)
Current market value: £28.8 million
The left-back is decent going forward but doesn’t always convince defensively.
24. Eduardo Salvio | Boca Juniors
Market value decrease: £12.6 million (63.6 %)
Current market value: £7.2 million
The 29-year-old is now back in Argentina with Boca Juniors after seven years with Benfica.
23. Fred | Man Utd
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (37.5 %)
Current market value: £22.5 million
The Brazilian midfielder has been a £52 million disaster so far for Man Utd. Can he turn things around this season?
22. Diego Costa | Atletico Madrid
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (37.5 %)
Current market value: £22.5 million
Still scary but hasn’t scored many goals (just 13 in 45 games) since returning to Atletico from Chelsea.
21. Adrien Rabiot | Juventus
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (30 %)
Current market value: £31.5 million
The French midfielder ended his long spell with PSG in the summer, joining Juventus on a free transfer.
20. Gonzalo Higuain | Juventus
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (30 %)
Current market value: £31.5 million
The 31-year-old was slightly disappointing during a loan spell at Chelsea last season and has only scored one goal in six games for Juventus at the start of the current campaign.
19. Willian | Chelsea
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (30 %)
Current market value: £31.5 million
Willian turned 31 in August and it’s hard to see any club paying over £30 million for him in the near future.
18. Edinson Cavani | PSG
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (27.3 %)
Current market value: £36 million
Still prolific in front of goal, the 32-year-old’s market value decrease is presumably down to age.
17. Naby Keita | Liverpool
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (23.1 %)
Current market value: £45 million
We’re still yet to see the best of Keita in a Liverpool shirt.
16. James Rodriguez | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (23.1 %)
Current market value: £45 million
Back at Real Madrid now following a two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich.
15. Isco | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £13.5 million (20 %)
Current market value: £54 million
A wonderfully talented footballer, will Isco need to leave Madrid in 2020 to rediscover his best form?
14. Thomas Lemar | Atletico Madrid
Market value decrease: £18 million (33 %)
Current market value: £36 million
The French midfielder scored three goals in 36 games during his debut season with Atletico.
13. Jordi Alba | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £18 million (28.6 %)
Current market value: £45 million
The 30-year-old remains one of the world’s best left-backs.
12. Toni Kroos | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £18 million (25 %)
Current market value: £54 million
Still an important player for Real Madrid, Kroos turns 30 in January.
11. Marco Asensio | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £18 million (25 %)
Current market value: £54 million
Asensio looked like a future world-beater a couple of seasons ago but his career has stagnated recently due to inconsistent performances and injuries.
10. Gareth Bale | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £18 million (25 %)
Current market value: £54 million
Bale is somehow still a Madrid player despite Los Blancos making it clear they wanted him to go in the summer.
9. Kevin De Bruyne | Man City
Market value decrease: £18 million (13.3 %)
Current market value: £117 million
His game-time was limited last season due to injuries but that £117 million market value will soon rise again. The Belgian has been the Premier League’s standout player during the opening weeks of the 2019/20 campaign.
8. Antoine Griezmann | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £18 million (13.3 %)
Current market value: £117 million
The Frenchman has scored three goals in eight appearances for Barcelona following his big-money move from Atleti.
7. Samuel Umtiti | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £22.5 million (35.7 %)
Current market value: £40.5 million
No longer one of Barcelona’s first-choice centre-backs, Umtiti finds himself behind Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet in the Camp Nou pecking order.
6. Sergio Busquets | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £22.5 million (33.3 %)
Current market value: £45 million
The Barcelona star is one of the best midfielders of his generation but, at the age of 31, is beginning to look a bit past his best.
5. Mauro Icardi | PSG
Market value decrease: £22.5 million (25 %)
Current market value: £67.5 million
Fell out of favour at Inter and was snapped up by PSG in the summer.
4. Paulo Dybala | Juventus
Market value decrease: £22.5 million (22.7 %)
Current market value: £76.5 million
Juventus probably would have sold Dybala in the summer but the Argentina international decided to stay in Turin.
3. Ivan Rakitic | Barcelona
Market value decrease: £27 million (46.2 %)
Current market value: £31.5 million
This could be the 31-year-old’s final season as a Barcelona player.
2. Marcelo | Real Madrid
Market value decrease: £40.5 million (64.3 %)
Current market value: £22.5 million
It’s not been a great year for the Brazilian left-back, whose best years are now behind him,
1. Philippe Coutinho | Bayern Munich
Market value decrease: £45 million (35.7 %)
Current market value: £81 million
Currently rediscovering his form and confidence at Bayern Munich following a nightmare spell with Barcelona, the Brazilian’s market value could recover (slightly) in 2020.