Jupiler Pro League market values: Belgium top-flight hits €1b milestone – El Khannouss rises

​

New values 

The Jupiler Pro League has hit a new milestone, following the latest market value update from Transfermarkt. For the first time in history, the Belgian top-flight has an overall market value of more than €1 billion – doubling its market value in the last 10 years and making it the 12th national league to reach the figure. And the player that has contributed to that remarkable figure the most is none other than Bilal El Khannouss, who is the most valuable player in the country with a market value of €30 million. 

“Belgian clubs have been mainly development clubs for a while now,” said Belgium Area Manager Bart Tamsyn. “Which means that they either try to pass on players from their own academy or attract cheap talents from abroad. In addition, Belgium shows that they can further train talent to get the most out of it. For instance, Belgium has been in the top-five of the FIFA ranking for 10 years now and the likes of Club Brugge, Union SG and KAA Gent provided European exploits during that period. Add to that the fact that Belgians do know how to negotiate and you have the basic recipe for the rising market values in recent years and reaching this milestone.”

As previously noted, the league’s most valuable player is El Khannouss. The KRC Genk playmaker was already the most valuable player in the Jupiler Pro League, but had to share that honour with Igor Thiago. Thanks to a €5m rise, the Moroccan international is now the single most valuable player and hoists himself to the level of Arthur Vermeeren before, who opted for a move to Atlético Madrid last year. “The rise for El Khannouss might seem contradictory because you can hardly say that KRC Genk have had a good season and solid play-offs,” Tamsyn explained. “Yet El Khannouss has never really disappointed and, especially after Bryan Heynen dropped out, he showed real leadership qualities and tried to take the team forward. Still, not immediately evident for a player who only turned 20 last month. With better statistics and a bit more composure on the pitch, El Khannouss looks like a player we are going to see back at the top of European football in a few years‘ time.”

The club with the biggest increase, however, is Cercle Brugge. Their squad market value rose by €15m and is now worth over €70m. Besides topscorer Kevin Denkey (+€3M to €16M), there are also nice rises for forward Alan Minda (+€2M to €6M), goalkeeper Warleson (+€1.5M to €4.5M) and new U21 international Christiaan Ravych (+€1M to €4M). Alongside Cercle Brugge, Union SG can also boast another fine rise. Both teams already achieved a club record based on market values in the March update, but have continued rising. The club from Brussels gained €11m and ended up just short of the €100m mark. The leading star of this Union side, especially in the second half of the season, is Cameron Puertas. The Spaniard crowned himself assist-king and the top shooter in the Champions’ Play-Offs. He therefore saw his market value rise from €11m to €15m, outshining Koki Machida (+€2M to €10M) and Alessio Castro-Montes (+€2M to €6M).

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).