Lamine Yamal tops the list of most valuable football players

Lamine Yamal. Pic/Getty Images

Barcelona's Spanish teenaged phenomenon Lamine Yamal is not just cashing in on the pitch, but off it too, with Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory ranking him as the most valuable player in the world. The 18-year-old is reportedly worth . 297 million (approximately Rs 3591 crore).

The news comes as little surprise, considering how important the winger has become to his club's fortunes. So far this season, Yamal has notched up nine goals and 11 assists in 22 games across all competitions for Barcelona. In the previous season, he played a pivotal role in helping the Catalan giants win a domestic treble. He has also starred for Spain, netting six goals and providing 12 assists across 23 games for them in the year.

Second on the list is Manchester City's Norwegian goal-machine Erling Haaland, with a value of . 217 million (approximately Rs 2624 crore), and after him comes Real Madrid's French ace Kylian Mbappe at . 174 million (approximately R2104 crore). These assessments were based on their age, period of contract and projected performance.

Top 5 most valuable football players

. Lamine Yamal - . 297mn (approximately Rs 3591cr)
. Erling Haaland - . 217mn (approximately Rs 2624cr)
. Kylian Mbappe - . 174 mn (approximately Rs 2104cr)
. Jude Bellingham - . 132.5mn (approximately Rs 1602cr)
. Michael Olise - . 118.6mn (approximately Rs 1434cr)