20 years of market values 

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The 2017/18 season wasn’t just on the pitch historical but also the transfer market. Real Madrid (squad value: €952m) won the Champions League for the third season in a row, Manchester City (€1.01bn) won the Premier League for the first time with Pep Guardiola in charge, and Neymar’s record transfer echoed in a new era of transfer fees and market values. As part of 20 years of market values on Transfermarkt, we look back to every season starting with 2004/05. 

By triggering his €222m exit clause, Paris Saint-Germain (€794m) managed to sign Neymar from Barcelona (€1.02bn), pulverizing the previous record by Paul Pogba, who joined Man United from Juventus for €105m in 2016. The Neymar deal led to increased transfer fees and rising market values. 

Ahead of his transfer, the Brazilian together with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who was headed into his last season with Real Madrid, were the only players with a market value of €100m or more. After Neymar’s transfer, seven more players broke through the benchmark in 2017/18. Meanwhile, Messi and Neymar saw their market value increase to €180m. PSG also signed Kylian Mbappé in a deal worth €180m. Despite all those investments, the Parisians never managed to win the Champions League. 

Messi was the only Barcelona player left in the most valuable XI. Champions League winners Real Madrid were represented by Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphaël Varane, Daniel Carvajal, and Marcelo. The most of any club. Atlético Madrid’s Jan Oblak, with a market value of €70m became the most valuable goalkeeper in history, pushing Manuel Neuer out of the most valuable XI. The market value of the most valuable XI rose from €765m in 2016/17 to €1.11bn, and the country with the most players were France, who won the World Cup in July 2018.

Salah doubles market value – Barca attempt to compensate Neymar departure

Once again, Messi was the top scorer in Europe with 45 goals and 20 assists in 54 games across all competitions. Mohamed Salah emerged as a superstar in England after his €42m transfer from Roma to Liverpool (€739m). The Egyptian was directly involved in 59 goals in 52 games and helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final. As a result, the forward doubled his market value to €80m. 

After losing Neymar, Barcelona invested €375m in new players, including €135m in Philippe Coutinho (January) and Ousmane Dembélé—both failed to replace the Brazilian. Behind the Catalans, Manchester City were second with €317m invested in new players—€245m were paid for defenders Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Danilo, and Kyle Walker, as well as goalkeeper Ederson. The result was Pep Guardiola’s first title in the Premier League. In the previous season, the clubs of the top five leagues paid €4.21bn in new players; in 2017/18, the expenses increased to €5.68bn.