The Three FC Barcelona Players In World’s Most Expensive Top 10 That Club Could Sell

Three FC Barcelona players have made a top ten list of the world’s most expensive footballers, and selling them would immediately alleviate the club’s financial woes.

Currently mired in debts of around $1.5bn, the Blaugrana have to offload players in order to improve a salary limit of -€144mn (-$155mn) ahead of next season.

While they struggle to find suitors for those that are surplus to requirements such as Samuel Umtiti and Martin Braithwaite, others with far more of a market would encounter no end of interested parties in the current summer transfer window if they were put in the shop window.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe is currently the world’s most expensive player with a price tag of €205.6mn ($220.5mn) after recently extending his contract at the Parc des Princes and snubbing Real Madrid.

In second place in Los Blancos’ Champions League final hero Vinicius Jr, who scored the only goal of the game as Carlo Ancelotti’s men beat Liverpool 1-0 at the Stade de France just over a week ago for the La Liga giants to lift a record 14th European Cup.

The Brazil international is rated at €185.3mn ($198.8mn), while new Manchester City striker Erling Haaland occupies third place with a €152.6mn ($163.7mn) fee.

In relation to Barca, however, Pedri Gonzalez (€135.1mn/$144.9mn) comes in fourth place while Frenkie De Jong (€112.5mn/$120.7mn) and Ferran Torres (€109.5mn/$117.5mn) also make the top ten.

It goes without saying then that finding new clubs for these players would considerably alleviate Barca’s financial woes. Yet with Pedri considered the future of the club’s midfield and Torres signed in January, it is only De Jong that is likely to leave with Manchester United said to be ‘very close’ to capturing him for €80mn ($85.8mn) which is some €32.5mn ($34.8mn) shy of his valuation here.

Elsewhere in the top 100, Ronald Araujo, who has just signed a long-term contract, is valued at €89.1mn ($95.5mn) and central defense partner Eric Garcia could bring in €60.2mn ($64.5mn) after joining from Manchester City, like Torres, as a free agent last summer.

Gavi, who Barca are in talks with for a contract renewal, is valued some €8.5mn ($9.1mn) higher than his €50mn ($53.6mn) release clause and is also viewed as a cornerstone of the club’s sporting ambitions for years to come.

Yet Sergino Dest, who has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou to the likes of Chelsea could fetch €52.9mn ($56.7mn).

CIES reached its numbers by using an algorithm which takes into account the remaining duration of a player’s contract, his age, minutes played over the last two years, goals scored, assists provided, and the number of successful passes and dribbles made in addition to appearances with their national team among other factors.