Most valuable players in 2016/17: Messi €10m ahead of Ronaldo – Pogba breaks record

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20 years of market values 

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In 2016/17, Real Madrid, with a squad value of €783m, became the first team in history to defend the Champions League with a win over Juventus in the final. Pep Guardiola took over Man City (squad value: €553m), and a young Kylian Mbappé emerged at Monaco. As part of 20 years of market values on Transfermarkt we look back to the most valuable players of every season all the way back to 2004. 

Lionel Messi from Barcelona (€733m) was the most valuable player with a market value of €120m, €10m ahead of the 31-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who saw his market drop by €10m to €110m that season. The Argentine scored 54 goals and 20 assists in 52 games that season, making him the most successful scorer in Europe ahead of teammate Luis Suárez, who had 56 goal contributions. The Uruguayan striker confirmed his €90m market value and was once again included in the most valuable XI.

With four players, Real Madrid had the most players in the most valuable XI. One of their future stars made his first mark this season with AS Monaco: Mbappé. The then 18-year-old led his team with six goals to the semifinals of the Champions League, where they exited the competition against Juventus. Mbappé also led his team to the Ligue 1 title before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017. With 40 goal contributions in 44 games, Mbappé increased his market value from €1.5m to €35m. 

Guardiola takes charge of Man City – Boom in China

At Man City, Guardiola succeeded Manuel Pellegrini, and the Spaniard invested €216m in new players, making the Citizens the highest-spending club in the world for a second year in a row. Among the players signed was Leroy Sané from Schalke; the €52m transfer fee made him the most expensive German player in history. But while Man City finished just third in the Premier League, Chelsea, under Antonio Conte, won the title. 

The most expensive transfer of the season was completed by Manchester United (€476m). The Red Devils signed Juve’s Paul Pogba in a deal worth a record €105m. The Frenchman was directly involved in 15 goals in 51 games across all competitions and won the Europa League. 

Also of note was the development in the Chinese Super League, where clubs like SH SIPG launched a transfer offensive—the Shanghai-based club paid €123m for new players, the ninth most in the world that season. Altogether, clubs from the Chinese Super League invested €545m in new players and had a bigger transfer deficit than the Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1, and Serie A together.  The most expensive players were Oscar and Hulk, for whom SIPG paid €60m to Chelsea and €56m to Zenit St. Petersburg, respectively.