Messi most valuable star

BARCELONA and Argentina star Lionel Messi remains the world’s most valuable footballer, even though his crown slipped this season, according to a market study.

In its annual report on the player market, the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory put Messi’s value at à216- million (about R3.1billion).

Even though his value dropped, he was still worth almost twice as much as arch rival, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, second in the ranking on à114- million.

CIES said that Messi’s higher value was mainly related to his younger age — he turns 27 this month, whereas Ronaldo is already 29.

Ronaldo’s heroics this season with Champions League winners Real Madrid improved his market value by à4- million.

The study also showed that Real Madrid did the worst deal — in market terms — for a single player when it spent a record à100- million to sign Welshman Gareth Bale from London club Tottenham Hotspur.

“Real Madrid clearly paid over the odds to convince Tottenham to release the player,” CIES said, underlining that Bale’s market value was now à37- million less than he cost the Spanish club.

Real spent an average of à32.3million a player to build its Champions League squad, the most expensive line-up on record.

Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid, which this season also clinched the Spanish title, made do with à4.3- million a player. — AFP