20 years of market values 

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In 2018/19 Ajax surprised in the Champions League only missing out narrowly on reaching the final after being defeated by Tottenham Hotspur in the semifinals. The title ultimately went to Liverpool (€1.11bn), who, despite playing a fantastic Champions League campaign, finished second to Manchester City (€1.17bn). As part of 20 years of market values on Transfermarkt, we look back to the most valuable players of every season, starting with the 2004/05 campaign.

The most valuable player was Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman joined Paris Saint-Germain (€922m) for €180m after being previously on loan from Monaco. The deal made Mbappé the second most expensive player in history behind Neymar, who joined the club on a permanent deal in 2017. In December 2018, the 19-year-old forward and 2018 FIFA World Cup winner received a record market value of €200m. Mbappé scored four goals at the World Cup and followed that up with 39 goals and 17 assists in 43 games for PSG. Only Lionel Messi was better in Europe, with 73 direct goal involvements in 50 games. The Argentine had a market value of €180m, which, together with Neymar, made him the second most valuable player in the world. 

The three were followed by Mohamed Salah from Liverpool and Kevin De Bruyne from Manchester City, as well as four more players with a market value of €150m. In the Premier League, the two top clubs were in a tight race for the championship, which the Citizens would win with 97 points, one point ahead of Liverpool. Salah aside, Virgil van Dijk made the most valuable XI with a market value of €75m. The team with the most players was Real Madrid (€872m), despite having their run of consecutive wins in the Champions League ended by Ajax. Marcelo, Raphaël Varane, and Daniel Carvajal represented Real. 

Chelsea buy Kepa for record fee – CR7 leaves Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo was no longer at Real Madrid. The Portuguese superstar left the Spanish record champions after nine seasons and 450 goals in 438 games in a transfer worth €117m for Juventus (€745m). By investing €265m, the Italians had the highest spending of the season. In his first season in Italy, Ronaldo won the Scudetto and was directly involved in 39 goals across 43 games. After Mbappé, Ronaldo was the second most expensive player that year. Real invested a part of the transfer fee in the 18-year-old Vinicius Junior, who joined the club in a deal worth €45m from Flamengo. 

Goalkeepers set new records. Liverpool made Alisson the most expensive goalkeeper in history when they paid Roma €62.5m to sign the Brazilian. The investment was worth every penny as Alisson kept six clean sheets on Liverpool’s road to the Champions League title. Alisson’s record wouldn’t stand very long as Chelsea paid €80m to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Club—a record to the present day. The season’s most valuable goalkeeper was Jan Oblak from Atlético Madrid, with a market value of €80m.