Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is worth almost twice as much as World Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, according a study by the CIES Football Observatory.
The ninth edition of the annual football review has estimated the Argentina international’s value at £161.5million ahead of second-placed Ronaldo on £85.2m.
In third place is Liverpool forward Luis Suarez who’s value is placed at £79.4m with Chelsea’s Hazard in fourth valued at £61.2m.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale comes in at seventh, valued at £50.9m, almost £30m less than the world-record £80.6m fee Real Madrid paid Tottenham for the Wales international’s services last year.
The study has also revealed that the team fielded by Real Madrid in this year’s Champions League final was the most expensive ever, with the average transfer expenditure per player of over £24m.
By Ollie Brown
