Most valuable players in 2008/09: Ronaldo and Lionel Messi kick off their dominance

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20 years of market values 

In 2008/09, Pep Guardiola won the Champions League for the first time with Barcelona. In the final against Manchester United, the two most valuable players on the planet faced one another: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. As part of 20 years of market values on Transfermarkt, we look back to the most valuable players of every season starting with 2004. This time, we focus on two stars who would dominate the game over the next two decades. 

With market values of €60m each, Messi and Ronaldo jumped ahead of Ronaldinho in the ranking. The Brazilian had dominated the list over the previous four years. But the Argentine and the Portuguese played fantastic seasons each. Messi scored 38 goals and 19 assists in 51 games for Barça, winning the World Footballer of the Year and Ballon d’Or in 2009. Ronaldo scored 26 goals and 12 assists in 53 games and won the English championship. Then, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in the summer for a record €94m.

Behind the top duo, who have faced each other 36 times until now, Milan’s Kaká (€55m), aside from one other player, broke through the €50m barrier. Today, 120 players have a market value of at least €50m. The top five that season was complemented by Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard (€46m) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (€45m), who in 2009/10 would become Messi’s teammate. 

The most valuable starting XI of the 2008/09 season was put together with players from eight different teams. The two Champions League finalists had two players each with Messi and Xavi (€44m) from Barca and Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand (€34m) from Man United. Liverpool, who finished second in the Premier League in 2008/09 also had two players in Gerrard and Fernando Torres (€43m). Torres together with Xavi and Sergio Ramos (€32m), won the European Championship in the summer of 2008.