Erling Haaland is no longer the most valuable footballer in the world

Yanick Vos

• Updated: 3 Jan 2024 18:45 GMT
• 3 min read

Jude Bellingham has dethroned Erling Haaland as the most valuable footballer in the world.

With an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €138 million, the attacking midfielder of Real Madrid has surpassed the striker of Manchester City. Kylian Mbappé is number three on the list.

Bellingham the most expensive

Bellingham moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid last summer for €103m. In less than six months he has become the most valuable footballer in the world. While he was worth €110m last summer, he now has an ETV of €138m as of this month.

The England international has made an excellent start to life at the Santiago Bernabéu. In all competitions this season he has scored 17 goals and notched five assists in 21 games for coach Carlo Ancelotti's team. Partly thanks to his production, Real Madrid are top of LaLiga and they convincingly reached the Champions League round of 16.

Haaland overtaken

Due to his good performances, Bellingham saw his ETV increase by an amount of €3 million last month. With this, he dethrones Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker was sidelined with an injury for most of December and that is reflected in his value. Haaland's ETV dropped from €144.2m to €136.9m.

Bellingham therefore replaces Haaland as the most valuable footballer in the world. That honorary title has long been lost by Kylian Mbappé, the current number three on the list. The ETV of the French attacker of Paris Saint-Germain has fallen for the second month in a row, to an amount of €125m.

Mbappé fades away

Mbappé has started a downward trend and that has everything to do with his contract situation. The Frenchman has an expiring contract, which means he can walk out on a free transfer after this season. That has a negative impact on his ETV.

If PSG fails to retain Mbappé longer or sell him in January, a huge loss will be incurred by the French superpower. Mbappé switched from AS Monaco to PSG on a loan basis in 2017, after which he was permanently signed a year later for €180m.