20 years of market values 

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In 2015/16, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Champions League with Real Madrid and the 2016 European Championships with Portugal. Jürgen Klopp became the new manager of Liverpool. As part of 20 years of market values on Transfermarkt, we look back to every season’s most valuable players, starting with 2004.  

As was the case the previous season, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo were the most valuable players, with a market value of €120m. In Neymar, who managed 54 goal involvements in 48 games, a third player broke through the €100m market value benchmark. The third attacker of the Barcelona attacking trio, Luis Suárez, achieved a new personal best with a market value of €90m. The Uruguayan forward managed to overshadow Ronaldo and Messi by scoring 54 goals and 24 assists in 51 games. 

Then, 33-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic played the best season of his career in Paris. The Swedish forward was directly involved in 70 goals, finishing second to Suárez—Ronaldo and Messi were directly involved in 66 and 64 goals, respectively. But because of his age, Ibrahimovic’s market value was just €15m, which was too little to make it into the most valuable XI. New names in that XI included Paul Pogba from Juventus and Daniel Carvajal from Real Madrid, who replaced Luka Modric and Philipp Lahm, respectively. Real Madrid had four players in the most valuable XI, followed by Bayern Munich and Barcelona with three each. 

Man City invests over €200m – But Leicester win the title

In England, Manchester City invested €208m in new players, among them Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, who were both the most expensive signings of the season. City paid €76m for De Bruyne, which made him the most expensive Bundesliga export in history. Despite the investments, Man City missed out on the title. Instead, Leicester City played a fantastic season, becoming the surprise champions despite being tipped as a relegation candidate ahead of the season.