Argentina market values: Franco Mastantuono up by 15.4% – Santiago Sosa rebounds

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815 players updated 

©TM/IMAGO

With the season concluded, Transfermarkt has updated the market values of 815 players playing in Argentina’s Professional Football League. Once again, two River Plate talents tower at the top of the market value ranking. However, while Claudio Echeverri remains unchanged at €18m, his River Plate teammate Franco Mastantuono sees his market value increase by 15.4% to claim the sole number two spot. 

“Franco Mastantuono, together with Echeverri, is the most promising player in Argentina,” Area Manager Argentina and South America for Transfermarkt Scott Christensen said. “He’s already been linked quite strongly with Real Madrid, and I’m quite confident that if it’s not Real Madrid, he’ll end up playing in a top European club anyway. Lefty, very skilled, with vision, good dribbler. His personality playing in a top team like River at just 17 years old is surprising.” With that in mind, his market value update to now €15m was only consequential. 

Julio Soler is new among the top ten. “He’s being linked regularly with some top clubs, especially Liverpool but lately Man United,” Christensen said. “Soler is a young and very offensive-minded left back, like Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko in his characteristics. He’s very young but already a regular starter for Lanús. I think he is a big prospect, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him on the Argentine national team sooner rather than later.” The 19-year-old Lanús defender saw his market value upgrade from €6m to €8m.  

Elsewhere, former Atlanta United midfielder Santiago Sosa saw his market value rebound since returning from Major League Soccer to Argentina. “We were not sure what to expect from him after his years on the MLS, and he has really exceeded expectations,” Christensen said. “He rapidly became a leader at Racing and won the Copa Sudamericana. Sosa was a key player in the midfield or as a center-back in a back-three. Sosa organized the team well from the back, adding to the attack and providing defensive stability.” With that in mind, Sosa saw his market value increase by €1m to now €7m. 

One player to watch is 18-year-old Vélez Sarsfield striker Alejo Sarco. “He’s a big promise but had some issues with Vélez as he refused to sign a new contract and therefore wasn’t part of the team anymore,” Christensen said. “We haven’t seen much of him because of that, but it was well known since the youth teams that he was a prospect. He’s getting an upgrade just because he’s leaving for a better league.” Sarco will join record-setting Leverkusen in January and, as a result, sees his market value upgrade from €500,000 to €800,000.

How Transfermarkt market values work

The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees. 

The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).