For several seasons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been inseparable at the top of the game.
It causes constant debates between soccer fans that like to discuss the following: who is better, Mess or Ronaldo?
In a study released by the CIES Football Observatory, Messi’s value has been set at a staggering $270 million. That is almost twice as much as Ronaldo’s valuation of $142 million in the same study.
Does something seem slightly wrong with that?
Ronaldo scored 55 goals in 45 appearances for club and country last season while Messi, who struggled with injury for brief spells, netted 36 times in 39 appearances. Ronaldo helped Real to a Copa del Rey and a UEFA Champions League title. Messi was trophyless at Barcelona. Who sounds more valuable based on the 2013-14 season now…
MORE: Ronaldo makes TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people list
In the ninth edition of this report Luis Suarez is ranked as the third most valuable player in the world at $132 million, then comes Chelsea’s Eden Hazard ($61.2 millions ) and Barca’s Neymar ($80.6 million) to round out the top five.
CIES continued to rank even more players and there were some surprises when it came to stars who were way overvalued as their value dropped considerably from the price they were bought for last season.
Top of that list was Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale who was purchased from Tottenham for $132 million back in September 2013 but is now worth $83.6 million. That is a drop of just under $50 million in a season as Bale initially struggled to settle in the Spanish top-flight but has since kicked on and was instrumental in Real winning the Champions League title.
Other players who saw their values drop significantly were Radamel Falcao after AS Monaco splashed out $80 million for his services but the Colombian suffered a serious knee injury. Tottenham’s Argentine winger Erik Lamela barely played in his debut season at White Hart Lane and is now valued at $22.7 million after arriving for $47 million last summer.
If you love these lists and dissecting exactly how influential each player is, the guys at CIES have plenty more data to interest you. Check them out, right here.
