Real Madrid bottom – How Champions League clubs are performing against market values

​

Ligue 1 clubs top two 

©TM/IMAGO

It was a thrilling match day five in the Champions League with the standings taking shape ahead of a crucial final three matches. There were an incredible 40 goals across the nine fixtures on Tuesday night with Arsenal winning 5-1 against Sporting CP in Lisbon and Feyenoord remarkably scoring three late goals to draw with Manchester City.  The goals didn’t flow in as regularly on Wednesday night but Liverpool preserved the only 100% record in the competition with a deserved 2-0 win over Real Madrid at Anfield. 

Jeopardy is increasing with every match day and not only are holders in serious danger of missing out on automatic qualification for the last 16 but they also sit just two places above the cut line for elimination.  Only the top eight qualify without a play-off and Madrid currently sit 24th, four points off Arsenal in 8th. The Spanish giants are the biggest underachievers in the Champions League but conversely, which clubs are currently overachieving? Using Transfermarkt’s acclaimed market values, we’ve compiled an alternative table based on how clubs are performing in relation to the value of their squad. 

Which clubs are overperforming the most in the Champions League? 

Using the aforementioned criteria, Brest are the best performing club in the Champions League based on their actual position compared to where they rank for market value. The Ligue 1 side have the 30th most valuable squad in the competition (€121m) but they are currently sitting in 11th place, which represents a difference of +19.  As the graphic above shows, Another Ligue 1 club ranks second with Lille having the 24th most valuable squad but they sit 12th – a positive difference of 12 – while Monaco also feature in the top five. 

Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta are also enjoying excellent campaigns and are 11 places higher in the actual Champions League table than they are when the clubs are ranked by market value. Scottish giants Celtic have a fantastic chance of qualifying for the knockout phase and they sit nine places higher than their market value would suggest – 22 clubs are overperforming their market value position and they’ve all been highlighted on our graphics. 

Which clubs are underperforming the most in the Champions League? 

Real Madrid are enduring a dismal Champions League campaign with the holders sitting in 24th position in the league phase table. Madrid have the most valuable squad in the world on Transfermarkt at €1.36bn and they are sitting 23 places lower than they should based on our criteria. RB Leipzig are yet to pick up a single point in the competition and sit in 34th place despite having the 13th most valuable squad in the competition. 

PSG are currently sitting in the elimination zone despite having the seventh most valuable squad in the competition. The French giants have some tough fixtures remaining and they are in serious danger of exiting the competition in the league phase. Manchester City are on a terrible run of form, without a win in six games, and the second most valuable squad in the world rank fourth in this table.