Football value doubles in 10 years
Foreign cash injection from investors turns the league upside-down
The value of Cyprus football has almost doubled in the past decade, as the worth of topflight teams went from EUR 84.8 mln in 2011 to EUR 159.88 in 2023, boosted by foreign investments in smaller clubs.
According to Transfermarkt, a football information and statistics site, the overall value of Cypriot teams increased by 88%, with the most expensive squad being Paphos FC, increasing by a whopping 1085%.
Pafos FC was formed just nine years ago, in 2014, from the union of AEP Pafos and AEK Kouklion, with the team participating in the second division.
Pafos FC finished second in the second division, earning a ticket to the topflight in 2015.
The squad in 2015 was worth EUR 2.15 mln. In April 2023, Pafos FC boasted the most expensive team in the top division, worth EUR 23.7 mln.
Pafos FC was taken over by Total Sports Investments, managed by Hungarian-born British businessman Roman Dubov in 2016, taking the team one step further every year.
It has the most expensive player, Croatian goalkeeper Ivica Ivusic, who carries a EUR 5 mln price tag, according to Transfermarkt.
The team from the west boasts five players in the top ten most expensive footballers playing in Cyprus.
In the summer, Pafos bought Senegalese midfielder Mustafa Name for a reported EUR 1.5 mln. He is now worth EUR 2 mln.
Finish attacking midfielder Onni Valakari is worth EUR 1.5 mln, and Brazilian attacker Jairo and Swedish left winger Muamer Tankovic are worth EUR 1.2 mln each.
Brazilian left winger Bruno Felipe is worth EUR 1 mln.
Pafos FC is followed by Omonia Nicosia FC, with a squad valued at EUR 17.65 mln.
According to a recent survey, Omonia is the island’s most popular football club, with nearly one in three fans (30.7%) supporting them.
Their flagging fortunes turned around in 2018 when New York-based Cypriot investor Stavros Papastavrou bought the club.
Papastavrou saved the club from imminent bankruptcy, taking on a debt of close to EUR 9 mln while injecting several million more to take the team to first place in 2020 when the championship was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
The Greens took home the championship trophy the following year and the Cup in 2022.
Omonia has one of the league’s most expensive players, midfielder Moreto Casama from Bisau, who is worth EUR 2 mln.
Omonia bought Casama in the summer for a reported EUR 1.5 mln from French topflight team Stade Reims.
Ukrainian international Artom Besedin, worth EUR 1.8 mln, is also in the squad on loan from Dynamo Kiyv.
Cypriot wonder boy Loizos Loizou is third with a price tag of EUR 1.5 mln, followed by Iranian international Karim Asarinfard (EUR 1 mln).
Omonia is followed by the league’s most decorated team, arch-rivals APOEL FC, with a squad worth EUR 15.75.
APOEL, equally well supported, have traditionally had one of the most expensive squads, as the team ruled Cypriot football.
APOEL’s most expensive player is Georgian international striker Giorgi Kvilitaia, worth EUR 1.8 mln, followed by Brazilian left winger Marquinhos with a price tag of EUR 1.2 mln.
Apollon Limassol, another football heavyweight, follows with a EUR 15.53 mln squad.
Nigerian Godswill Ekpolo is their expensive player, worth an estimated EUR 1.2 mln.
Eternal underdogs
Making a splash this season with its performance, once ‘eternal’ underdogs Aris Limassol have the fifth most valued squads worth EUR 14.6 mln.
The Limassol team boast players such as Polish striker Mariusz Stepinski, worth EUR 2 mln, and Swedish left winger Leo Bangttson (EUR 1 mln).
Russian international Aleksandr Kokorin is also in the squad — now 32; he is worth an estimated EUR 800,000.
At the height of his career, his value reached EUR 18 mln in 2014 when playing for Dynamo Moscow.
Aris Limassol is currently top of the league, one point ahead of APOEL FC, with six games left.
Aris, established in 1930, is a founding member of the Cyprus Football Association, but it has never won a major league trophy, frequently being relegated to the second division.
In the Summer of 2021, a new era began, with Russian investor Vladimir Federov, taking over the club, intending to transform Aris into one of the elite.
The following season, Aris finished fourth in the league, meaning the club qualified for the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League, the first time it had ever qualified for Europe.
They made their European debut in the second qualifying round against Neftçi Baku, and despite a 2-0 win at home, Aris lost 3-0 in the second tie and was eliminated.