Paul Pogba, owner of the richest contract in footballer history, has been the subject of much scrutiny since Manchester United broke the bank to acquire him.
Last summer, United broke the world transfer fee record (the first time the club has done so, after breaking the British transfer fee record 12 times previously) to acquire the French midfielder for £89.3 ($115, 101 million Euro).
With a price tag like that, you’re going to be under the microscope, and Paul Pogba criticism is a topic that United Manager Jose Mourinho repeatedly addressed throughout the 2016-17 season.
While many thought the £89.3 million was a ridiculously exorbitant amount, Mourinho maintained that in time we will all come to view that deal as “cheap,” relative to future contracts.
Mourinho’s argument gets more backing today, as CIES Football Observatory released their annual list of the most valuable players in Europe.
Of course, how much backing depends on how much proverbial stock you put into what CIES has to say, as their list is obviously about as much of an inexact science as you can find. The list, based purely on their calculated transfer value in the current market, ranks Pogba as the third most valuable player in England, with a value of 134.3 million Euro ($150.4 million, £118.9 million)
That is £29.6 million more than United paid- what a deal!
Tottenham Hotspur claimed the #1 and #2 spots with Dele Alli and Harry Kane respectively.
Over the coming months, as it is now summer transfer window silly season, you’ll see transfer rumor stories that will quote outrageous figures; even more so than the astronomical numbers that we saw last summer. Player transfer fees will only increase in the future, as the broadcast rights contracts keep getting bigger, the clubs become richer, and that will trickles down to what teams can pay out in order to attract the top players.
Here is the full top ten in England, with Paul Pogba the only Manchester United representation, listed below:
Specific @CIES_Football content: most expensive @premierleague players from a transfer value perspective. More at https://t.co/GyPdNd6UST pic.twitter.com/46dFkyPs5x
— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) June 12, 2017
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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