20 years of market values at TM
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FC Barcelona entered the 2009/10 season as reigning Champions League winners, defended their LaLiga title, became club world champions and created a novelty in the history of market values. For the first time, one club provided three of the five most valuable players in the world. As part of the 20th anniversary of market values, we are looking at the most valuable professionals of each season since 2004 in a series.
In 2009/10, the then 22-year-old Lionel Messi not only managed to distance himself somewhat from Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (24), but also broke the market value record of 80 million euros. Ex-Barça colleague Ronaldinho had set this up a few years earlier, after he had always been at the top of the world since market values were surveyed (2004). In 2009/10, now at Milan, he was only valued at 28.5 million euros.
For Messi it was the first season with the sole global top value. Ronaldo came in second with 75 million euros. This was followed by three strategists from the two teams, Xavi (65 million) and Andrés Iniesta (60 million) from Barça and Kaká (60 million) from Real. This meant that the top five of the world’s highest market values for the 09/10 season were occupied by just two clubs, all of which played in Spain. This was also a novelty in terms of market values.
A look at the most valuable eleven of the 2009/10 season shows: Back then, Manchester United was still having its heyday under Sir Alex Ferguson. Even though the Red Devils’ championship streak was interrupted by Chelsea FC under coach Carlo Ancelotti during the season, United dominated the market values of the Premier League across the board. The 24-year-old Wayne Rooney (€53 million), for example, experienced a big upswing, scoring more than 20 goals in a championship season for the first time (26) and was only ahead of Chelsea’s veteran Didier Drogba in the top scorer list. However, the most valuable player in England was Cesc Fàbregas (55 million) at Arsenal.
From the Bundesliga, the Munich winger of 26-year-old Franck Ribéry (50 million) and Arjen Robben (38 million) can be found in the ranking at the time. To find the most valuable German footballer of this time, also a Bayern player, you have to go a lot further down the list: Mario Gómez with a market value of 30 million euros was shared with six other players, e.g. E.g. Man City’s Carlos Tevez, ranked 31st in market value worldwide. The most valuable of the 2009/10 season, who was active in Germany but not in Munich, was Edin Dzeko from the reigning German champions VfL Wolfsburg with 25 million euros. A short time later, Messi would set the next milestone in terms of market value.
