England, which is gunning for its second World Cup title, has the most valuable squad in Qatar with Jude Bellingham topping a list of over 800 players, a study has found. Here is a look at how the other major sides compare at the tournament:
Transfer value
According to a study conducted by Swiss research group CIES Football Observatory, England’s 26-man squad is worth just under $1.54 billion in transfer value, with 19-year-old Bellingham valued at $210 million.
The Borussia Dortmund player enhanced his reputation as one of the world’s top young players with a superb goal in England’s 6-2 victory over Iran in its tournament opener.
Brazil is second on the list with a transfer value of $1.5 billion. Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was Brazil’s most valuable player at $208 million.
France was third with an estimated transfer value of $1.4 billion for its squad. Paris St. Germain forward Kylian Mbappe was the top French player with a value of $192.6 million.
The top three were followed by Spain ($1.25 billion), Portugal ($1.2 billion) and Germany ($1.06 billion).
The statistical technique used in the study to build the model was multiple linear regression, with fees paid by clubs as an independent variable.
The sample comprises more than 2,000 transactions of players transferred from clubs in the five major European leagues from July 2012 to November 2021.
The overall value of all the squads at the World Cup was put at $15.6 billion.
Insurable value
According to analysis by Lloyd’s of London — backed by the Centre for Economics and Business Research — teams were ranked based on the collective insurable value of their players.
England’s squad topped the list with an estimated insurable value of $3.74 billion.
They edged France ($3.2 billion) and Brazil ($3.1 billion) to claim top spot. Lloyd’s said the assessment of insurable value comprises a variety of metrics like wages, sponsorship, age and on-field positions.
Using this methodology to play out the tournament in full, Lloyd’s predicted that England — champions in 1966 — will finish top of Group B in Qatar and seal knockout wins over Senegal, France, Spain and Brazil.
Bellingham was rated the most insurable player, followed by Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
