The International Centre for Sports Studies, CIES in Switzerland has stated in its research that Lionel Messi is worth €87 million more than the Real Madrid superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo,
The Barcelona midfielder has won four Ballons d’Or consecutively in his football career and skippered Argentina to the World Cup final in 2014, claiming the Golden Ball award for being the best player in the tournament.
Messi has an existing contract with Barcelona which is set to end in June 2018, although there have been reports that he might soon move from Camp Nou for Stamford Bridge due to discontent in Catalunya.
But Chelsea’s boss, Jose Mourinho will know Messi will not come cheap be cheap, as the Football Observatory, a research group within CIES, suggests Messi currently has a valuation of €220m.
According to the research, Ronaldo comes next in the list, with a valuation of €133m, as Gareth Bale sits in 10th place with an estimated net worth of €60m.
Eden Hazard is rated at €99m in third spot just ahead of fourth-placed Diego Costa (€84m) who sits at the fourth position, as fellow teammate Cesc Fabregas sits at number eighth (€62m).
The French player, Paul Pogba is valued at €72m, keeping him at the fifth position, while the other three spots in the top 10 are filled Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero at €65m in sixth and Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling at €63m.
European champions Real Madrid have the most players on the list with eight other stars in addition to Ronaldo and Bale in the top 120.
The oldest player according to the CIES’ 2015 valuation tally is 31-year-old Franck Ribery, who sits at 106th with valuation of €20m, while Manchester United’s teenage left-back Luke Shaw is valued at €26m along with Mario Balotelli and Gerard Pique in 65th.
