The highest valued XI in world football, Bellingham, Mpappe and who else makes it? | OneFootball

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The amount of money in football is forever increasing. As more and more tune in to watch the biggest games worldwide, more sponsors are paying to be seen. Whether it be on kits, advertising boards or even on the front of stadiums, there is a never ending waterfall of cash that engulfs the beautiful game.

As such, the valuation placed on players is as high as its ever been. Many transfer records have been broken over the last decade. Hundreds of millions have been spent, and there is no sign of it slowing down. With that in mind, we have decided to use Transfermarkts valuations to find out what the current highest valued team is in world football.

It is important to note, this team is not the most expensive team of all time. Rather, it is who currently is worth the most based on their current market value. For this team, we will be using the 4-2-3-1 formation. With that being said, we start with...

GK: Diogo Costa - £38 million

We start with the Portuguese number one as our goalkeeper.

Diogo Costa is coming off the back of another impressive season at FC Porto. In 41 games, Costa managed to keep 20 clean sheets and conceded just 30 goals. His efforts in between the sticks helped guide Porto to the Portuguese Cup and Portuguese League Cup in the 22/23 season, but was not enough to secure them a league title.

Having been at the same club for his entire career, Costa is the only one of this team who is not from one of the top 5 leagues in Europe. It seems only a matter of time before he makes a life-changing move, with Tottenham and Manchester United having previously been linked with the player.

Based on Transfermarkt's valuation, Costa would come at a reasonable price of £38 million. At just 23 years of age and when considering some of the money that has been spent on other hit and miss keepers in the past, this may be a transfer that great value for money.

RB: Achraf Hakimi - £56 million

Despite only being 24, Hakimi has had the fortune of playing for Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and PSG during his career. The right back joined the French giants for just under £60 million in 2021, and his performances have done enough to practically maintain his market value.

With league titles and other domestic trophies expected of his in Paris, arguably Hakimi's crowning achievement came when he managed to guide Morocco to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals. Morocco became the first African team to make it to the final four in World Cup history. Hakimi was one of the shining stars of this team alongside Sofyan Amrabat and Bono.

With PSG undergoing a transformation after the sales of Lionel Messi and Neymar, Hakimi may become one of the focal points as the side push for the allusive Champions League title.

CB: Ruben Dias - £68 million

One half of a Manchester City centre back pairing, Ruben Dias has been revolutionary since joining the Sky Blues from Benfica in 2020. In a position where the likes of John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake have struggled to hold down their spot, Dias has been ever present since he arrived for £60 million.

Dias is the first player in this team to be valued higher than his most recent transfer fee, with Transfermarkt whacking a £68 million valuation on the defender.

Dias is coming off his most successful season yet, helping Manchester City secure the treble, making them only the second ever English team to complete the feat. Dias will be hoping for similar success in the next coming seasons, with potentially a new partner next to him in defence. Who just so happens to be the next person on this team.

CB: Josko Gvardiol - £64 million

At just 21 years of age, Josko Gvardiol is the latest addition to Pep Guardiola's super team. Having activated the Crotian's release clause, Gvardiol will be hoping to make an immediate impact at the Etihad as part of a team who are currently winning on all fronts.

Gvardiol joins after two successful seasons at RB Leipzig in Germany, which culminated with 2 DFB Pokal successes. He will be hoping that with a move to City, he will soon have even more silverware.

LB: Alphonso Davies - £60 million

The success story of Alphonso Davies is one to behold. From a refugee camp to one of the biggest teams in the world, Davies has established himself as one of the most exciting defenders in world football. With his electrifying pace, the Canadian international is as effective going forward as he is defensively. He brought himself to the world stage when he tore apart Barcelona during Bayerns 8-2 win over the Spanish giants in 2020.

Davies joined the German giants at just 17 years old for only £17 million. The deal now seems a bargain with Davies firmly established in the Bavarians team, boasting multiple domestic titles and a Champions League at just 22.

CM: Jude Bellingham - £102 million

Following in the footsteps in some of the biggest names in British football, such as David Beckham and Gareth Bale, Jude Bellingham became the latest Galatico in 2023.

Bellingham has proved over his short career that he has the potential to be the very best, along with the personality and ambition to match. It is no wonder Real Madrid decided to splash the cash on him as they continue to revolutionse their midfield.

The 20 year old is already well estalblished within the English national team and at the time of writing, has made a flying start to his Real Madrid career. The Birmingham City academy graduate has scored four times and assisted once in his opening three La Liga games. He is partnered in the centre of the pitch in this team, with one of his new teammates in real life.

CM: Federico Valverde - £85 million

Unlike Bellingham, Valverde did not come into Madrid as an exciting Galatico earmarked for a bright future. Instead, Madrid parted way with just €5 million to bring the young Uruguian into their youth set up.

Part of Valverde's success at the Bernabeu is due to his versatility, with him often being deployed on the wide right. He is best deployed in the centre of the park however, and with the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric seemingly coming towards the end of their career, it may not be long until we see Valverde and Bellingham spearheading the Madrid midfield for years to come.

CAM: Jamal Musiala - £94 million

The former Chelsea academy player returned to Germany to join the youth set up at Bayern Munich for a compensation fee of roughly £200,000. Now, Musiala is one of the most exciting midfielders in world football and valued at close to £100 million.

At Just 20 years of age, Musiala has already made 23 appearances for his country and is seen as the leading light in the future of German football. Pressure is on him to help bring his country back to world and European glory.

Comparisons between Musiala and Bellingham were constant during Bellingham's time at Borussia Dortmund. With their careers sharing many parallels, it will be exciting to see these two battle over the next two decades for club and country.

RW: Bukayo Saka - £103 million

Arsenal's Number 7 is perhaps already one of the clubs greatest homegrown talents.

In his short career, Saka has won the FA Cup with The Gunners and his efforts to help turn them from midtable mediocrity to genuine title challengers saw him being named the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2023.

Coming off the back of his most influential season so far, where he contributed to 26 goals in all competitions, Saka will be looking to take one step further and being Arsenal their first league title since 2004.

LW: Vinicius Junior - £128.5 million

The heir apparent to Neymar, Vinicius is the second most valuable player according to Transfermarkt. The 23 year old Brazillian joined Real Madrid in 2018 and has filled the Cristiano Ronaldo shaped hole on Madrid's left flank.

Now valued at €150 million, Vinicius already has 2 La Liga titles and one Champions League to his name at just 23. This is equal to what Neymar managed to accomplish during his time at Barcelona.

With his prime years still another few years away, it is scary to think how much more dominant Vinicius came become. With that, could he soon be taking the top spot as the most valuable player in football from the last person in this team?

ST: Kylian Mbappe - £155 million

Ever since he made his name as a 17 year old for Monaco, Kylian Mbappe has been one of the most frightening players in world football. Domestic success has come easy for the Frenchman and at just 24, he has put in World Cup performances for the ages.

As a teenager, he was named the young player of the tournament as France won the 2018 World Cup. 4 years later, Mbappe became the second man after Sir Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final in a losing effort to Argentina.

It is undoubted that Mbappe's valuation would likely be higher if he wasn't entering the final year of his contract at PSG. With his future up in the air, it remains to be seen what is next for who you imagine is a future Ballon D'or winner.