Mbappe tops list of estimated transfer values at 265m euros-study

(Reuters) - Teams interested in signing Kylian Mbappe must be prepared to splash the cash for the prodigious Frenchman, with an algorithm https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2019/wp279/en estimating that the 21-year-old would cost a staggering 265 million euros (225.05 million pounds).

Paris St Germain's Neymar holds the record after his 2017 move from Barcelona for 222 million euros, considerably more than the 180 million euros the Ligue 1 champions paid Monaco after completing a permanent deal for Mbappe the next year.

According to an algorithm developed by the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory, Mbappe's value has sky-rocketed while 27-year-old Brazilian Neymar is now estimated to cost around 100 million euros.

England forward Raheem Sterling may be worth his weight in gold for Manchester City and the study confirmed he too would eclipse Neymar after being valued at 223 million euros.

Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah was third overall at an estimated value of 175 million euros while Lionel Messi (125 million euros) and Cristiano Ronaldo (80.3 million euros) were lower down in the list.

The study takes into account a player's performance for club and country, age, position, league of employment and economic level of the releasing club when estimating https://football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/note01en.pdf transfer values of players in Europe's 'Big Five' leagues.

As many as 11 players out of the top 20 with an estimated value of at least 100 million euros play for Premier League clubs, it added, with Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain Harry Kane ranked sixth with a value of 150 million.

Liverpool have three of the costliest players in terms of playing positions, with goalkeeper Alisson estimated at 87 million euros, centre back Virgil van Dijk at 93 million euros and full back Trent Alexander-Arnold at 110 million euros.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)