Is the “English tax” real? Ranking the most over and undervalued nationalities in football

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Data revealed 

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While football can undoubtedly call itself the global game, when it comes to the passports of the thousands of players that earn a living from the sport there are certainly some that are worth more than others. Whether it be the samba flair of Brazilian wingers or the stalwart fortitude of Italian defenders, the sport is just as guilty as wider society for falling for silly stereotypes. As such, from time to time, certain nationalities are considered to be overvalued or undervalued depending on any given fan’s perspective. But which nations typically demand higher transfer fees than they’re worth and which nationalities are sorely under valued? Let’s take a look. 

To find out, we compared the transfer fees and market values ​​(at the time of signing) of every player transferred since the start of the 2020/2021 season up until February 13, 2025. We then grouped them by nationality and calculated an average for each of them. For the purposes of this exercise, we did not include loans and free transfers. For players with dual nationalities, we chose the nation they decided to play for as their given nationality. If they did not have one, it is often the nationality of the country of birth that has been used, except in special cases (right of blood, wishes of the player himself, etc.).

According to Transfermart data, the nation that came out on top as the most overvalued among the top 50 nations in the FIFA rankings was none other than Austria. On average, their market value is higher than their transfer fee by no less than €794k. In second place is Canada, whose players are typically sold for €778k more than their market value, followed by Spain (€686k), Switzerland (€626k) and then Iran makes up the top five with their players typically demanding a transfer fee of on average €538k less than their market value. Perhaps some notable nations that also make it on to the list of most overvalued players are Germany in 8th place (€472k), Argentina in 12th (€384k) and the United States in 15th with their players typically being sold for €291k less than their market value. 

But which nations typically demand higher transfer fees than their market values would suggest? Perhaps to no great surprise England sit top of this list by a considerable margin, with the average English player demanding a transfer fee that is €1.97 million more than their corresponding market value. That figure far outweighs Wales in second place, whose players tend to be sold for €1.29m more than their market value, then Ecuador in third at €1.06m, Portugal in fourth (€706k) and Belgium in fifth (€603k). This unquestionably explains why football fans in England and their counterparts across Europe often joke about the “English tax”, which tends to refer to players from the nation being sold for more than they’re worth. However, while many fans would have simply laughed off such remarks as little more than a myth, our data now suggests that the “English tax” does indeed exist and if the transfer fees paid for their players is anything to go by then it is being put to good effect in each and every transfer window.