Unfinished Business: Players Who Have Returned to Their Clubs
There are few feel-good stories in football as those of players who have returned to their clubs, finishing the unfinished, or helping in times of need.
With the 2021/2022 season well underway and the transfer window well closed, it's the best time of the campaign to see the market value of footballers. Listing out the top 10 most valuable players according to Transfermarkt with the two youngsters leading the pack as they are predicted to do for years to come.
Here are the 10 players with the highest value in the fall of 2021.
10. Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) - €90,000,000
Barcelona are in a deep financial mess with several recent transfers being utter flops. But not that of the €86,000,000-paid Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfield director already played 101 games for Barcelona, scoring nine times and getting 14 assists. Even though he won only the Spanish Cup with the team, his market value is once again at his career-high after a drop following his move in 2019. The 24-year-old has a long term contract with Barca, until 2026 with his evaluation likely to stay put.
9. Jadon Sancho (Manchester United) - €90,000,000
Finally getting his long-awaited (even though he's only 21) move to Manchester United this summer, Jadon Sancho actually had his evaluation drop when compared to the last year at Borussia Dortmund. That's when BVB was holding out for €111,000,000 but because United got him for the initial €85 million with the chance of the move rising to €95 million, Sancho is fell off his once €130,000,000 evaluation. But with his contract until 2026, he is likely to see his market value rise to or above the aforementioned sum.
8. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - €100,000,000
The second-oldest man on this list of most valuable players coming into the 2021/2022 season, Neymar is on the decline of his worth. But it's hard to go up after you secure the still world-record transfer of €222,000,000 that he made in 2017. Neymar recently signed a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain, a likely life-long contract as the Brazilian is hardly to play after 2025 with his history of injury.
7. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - €100,000,000
Hard to believe probably, but Kevin De Bruyne is 30 and hence the oldest man on this list of most valuable players in the 2021/2022 season. The Belgian has been the world's most renowned midfielder for some years now and even his injuries haven't been able to keep him from the pinnacle of monetary evaluation of players. De Bruyne's last transfer happened all the way back in 2015, with Wolfsburg getting €76,000,000 for the man who was most valued at €180,000,000. With his contract extended this year, if all goes well KDB will finish his career at the Etihad in 2025.
6. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) - €100,000,000
One of the three players who had a transfer in the summer of 2021, with Romelu Lukaku re-joining Chelsea for €115,000,000. Once again his evaluation reaching €100,000,000 according to Transfermarkt for the first time since he was at Manchester United, where his value dropped soon thereafter. It was at Inter that the 28-year-old re-found his groove and CFC banked in on him again with a long-term contract until 2026.
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - - €100,000,000
The third man on this list of most valuable players in 2021 that has passed through Chelsea, after De Bruyne and Lukaku. Salah is the player with the second-cheapest last transfer of all these footballers on the list, for his move in 2017 when he left Roma to join Liverpool. The 29-year-old was even evaluated at €150,000,000 at one point but LFC's weak last season took its toll. As did the length of his contract with only a season and a half remaining on it.
4. Jack Grealish (Manchester City) - €100,000,000
The last man whose transfer materialized this summer as Manchester City broke the Premier League purchase record when activating his release clause. According to the Transfermarkt's evaluation, Aston Villa made a tremendous deal as Grealish was valued at €65,000,000 at the end of last season. Aged 26, there is still room for his evaluation to rise if he meets the expectations laid on top of the most-expensive Englishman ever. He has the padding of a long-term contract until 2027, which shows that Pep Guardiola and the brass at Etihad have the utmost confidence for him.
3. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) - €120,000,000
It wasn’t meant to be for Harry Kane to be the third Manchester City player on this list. The champions of England tried for a long time but their offers didn’t faze Tottenham’s owner Daniel Levy who demanded a fee of €175,000,000 while City wanted to give as much as they did for Grealish - €117,000,000. But Levy might regret the decision not to sell the English striker in the summer of 2021 as he has started this season abysmally, with no goals scored in the Premier League up to mid-October. Aged 26, there is still room for his evaluation to rise if he meets the expectations laid on top of the most expensive Englishman ever. He has the padding of a long-term contract until 2027, which shows that Pep Guardiola and the brass at Etihad have the utmost confidence for him.
2. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - €150,000,000
One of the two youngsters that is deem to dominate this list for a long time. Erling Haaland lit up football Europe following his move from Red Bull Salzburg in the winter of 2020 for just €20,000,000. That sum being the lowest of all the last transfers of the man on this list of most valuable players. Aged only 21, the man who scored 68 goals in 67 games for BVB alongside 19 assists is only going up. His deal lasts until 2024 but it would be a huge shock for the footballing world if he doesn't make a permanent transfer in the summer of 2022.
1. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - €160,000,000
Edging out his current and future long-term rival Haaland, the two years older Mbappe already has one massive transfer behind him, when Paris Saint-Germain got him in 2017 on loan with the obligation to buy for €145,000,000. The 22-year-old saw his evaluation go as high as €200,000,000 but his next transfer will hardly exceed the value of his previous one. With his contract expiring in July of 2022, he is poised for a move to Real Madrid, either for free next summer or for a lower sum in January of next year. Either way, Mbappe’s value won’t come close to the €100,000,000 mark any time soon.
