20 years market values 

©Transfermarkt

Apart from introducing market values, the 2004/05 season offered several other highlights. Liverpool beat AC Milan in the Champions League final despite being 0-3 down at halftime and Chelsea won the Premier League with 95 points while conceding just 15 goals. Real Madrid’s Galácticos failed to win a single title. To celebrate 20 years of market values, Transfermarkt revisits the most valuable players of the 2004/05 campaign. 

At the top was Barcelona’s Ronaldinho, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2005 and had a market value of €50m. In comparison, Barcelona have nine players under contract with a market value of €50m or more under contract right now. Second place was shared by Ronaldinho’s compatriot Ronaldo from Real Madrid and Arsenal’s Thierry Henry with a market value of €45m. Henry scored 25 goals the most in the Premier League and the Golden Boot as Europe’s top goalscorer—for a second season in a row. 

Real Madrid had the most players in the most valuable XI. Ronaldo aside, David Beckham (€40m), Roberto Carlos (€30m), and Iker Casillas (€25m) made the cut—despite Real’s failure to win a title in 2004/05. Arsenal, who finished second in the Premier League, were represented by Henry, Patrick Viera, and José Antonio Reyes (both €35m). 

With a market value of €30m, Michael Ballack was the only player in the top 25 not playing in the Serie A, Premier League, or LaLiga. The midfielder was under contract at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.