If all goes to plan, the football World Cup kicks off in 11 days, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Who is the most valuable footballer at the coming World Cup, and what is their market value?
Recent figures show that the younger world football’s new stars are, the more they are surpassing everyone in value. The biggest and most striking example is Spanish star Lamine Yamal. Not yet 20, the Barcelona winger now has a market value of more than $401 million — about 5,000 crore taka — topping the list of the world’s most valuable players and worth nearly three times any footballer of his age.
Just behind Yamal is Norway and Manchester City’s “goal machine” Erling Haaland. France’s Kylian Mbappé, though now past 27, still holds his place in the top three.
The list of the 10 most valuable players heading to the World Cup shows the dominance of Europe’s big powers, with three from Real Madrid, two from Barcelona and two from PSG. Notably, France’s Ousmane Dembélé is absent — even though he recently won every trophy with PSG and lifted the 2025 Ballon d’Or. The reason is clear: today’s market puts more weight on a player’s age, consistency and long-term potential than on past honours, which is why young players dominate.
The 10 most valuable players at the 2026 World Cup
1. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – $401.31 million
2. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – $298.37 million
3. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) – $235.23 million
4. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) – $179.08 million
5. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) – $160.10 million
6. Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) – $158.76 million
7. Désiré Doué (PSG) – $157.34 million
8. João Neves (PSG) – $152.78 million
9. Arda Güler (Real Madrid) – $152.43 million
10. Pedri (Barcelona) – $152.05 million
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