At 1.5b euros, England squad is most valuable at the World Cup: study

ENGLAND – which are gunning for their second World Cup trophy – have the most valuable squad in Qatar, with teenager Jude Bellingham topping a list of over 800 players, a study has found.

According to a report released by Swiss research group CIES Football Observatory, England’s 26-man squad is worth just under 1.5 billion euros (S$2.12 billion) in transfer value, with Bellingham – a 19-year-old who plays his club football for Borussia Dortmund in Germany – valued at an eye-watering 202 million euros.

He enhanced his reputation significantly as one of the world‘s top young players with the opening goal in England’s 6-2 victory over Iran in their tournament opener on Monday (Nov 21).

Brazil are second on the list with a transfer value of 1.45 billion euros, with their Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr, 22, named the Samba Kings’ most valuable player at 200 million euros.

France were third with an estimated transfer value of 1.34 billion for their squad. Paris Saint Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, 23, was their top player with a value of 185 million euros.

The top three were followed by Spain (1.2 billion euros), Portugal (1.15 billion euros) and Germany (1.02 billion euros).

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 during the period from July 2012 to November 2021.

The overall value of all 32 squads at this year’s World Cup was put at 15 billion euros.

According to an 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.

Once again, England’s squad topped the list. The Three Lions have an estimated insurable value of £3.17 billion (S$5.18 billion).

They edged out France (£2.66 billion) and Brazil (£2.56 billion) to claim first place. Lloyd’s said that 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 – the world champions in 1966 when they last hosted the World Cup – will finish top of Group B in Qatar and go on to seal knockout victories over Senegal, France, Spain and Brazil to win the trophy next month.

Bellingham was rated the most insurable player, followed by Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. REUTERS