Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there is no question that football clubs will be thinking about this summer's transfer window, providing that it goes ahead as planned.
There is a real chance that the current state of affairs could have a significant impact on how much money is spent this summer, but the valuations of the top players in world football are still vast.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the top 20 most valuable players in world football.
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Kylian Mbappe's presence at the top of the list is not a surprise. Indeed, the 21-year-old has scored 90 times in 120 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain since his arrival and is believed to be a big-money target for Real Madrid. In truth, it is not shocking that the France international has been placed at the summit, but Raheem Sterling's spot in second is questionable; the 25-year-old has enjoyed another strong season and should certainly be near the top, although second position is perhaps a touch too high.
Mbappe's club teammate Neymar, who is third, continues to be linked with a big-money return to Barcelona, and the 28-year-old would also command huge money should he move on this summer. Four Premier League players are next in the list, with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, in addition to Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, who are all among the best players in England's top flight.
There is an argument that De Bruyne should be above Mane, Salah and Kane, but the fact that all four are high up is not a surprise due to their contributions in recent seasons. Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho is eighth with a valuation of £105.3m, meanwhile, and the 20-year-old continues to be linked with a big-money switch to Manchester United.
Lionel Messi is actually only down in ninth with a valuation of £100.8m; there is an argument that the Argentine is still the world's best player despite some injury problems earlier this season, but he will be 33 in June, and the likes of Mbappe deserve to have higher values in terms of longevity.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold is 10th on the list having enjoyed another excellent campaign for Liverpool; it could be argued that the Englishman is currently the best right-back in the world, meaning that his placing is not a surprise. Neither Antoine Griezmann nor Joao Felix have enjoyed particularly impressive campaigns for Barcelona or Atletico Madrid respectively, though, and their high spots are debatable.
Interestingly, Kai Havertz is 13th on the list; the attacker has enjoyed another impressive campaign for Bayer Leverkusen and is believed to be interesting the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Liverpool ahead of the opening of this summer's transfer window.
The next five in the list are all from the Premier League - Bernardo Silva, N'Golo Kante, Leroy Sane, Virgil van Dijk and Paul Pogba. Silva's high placing is quite surprising despite his quality, but Kante, Sane, Van Dijk and Pogba are all leading players for their clubs despite three of the four having injury problems this season.
The only goalkeeper in the top 20 is Atletico's Jan Oblak, and there is an argument that the 27-year-old is currently the best stopper in world football. Eden Hazard completes the list with a valuation of £72m despite a disappointing first season at Real Madrid. The most notable absentee is a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, who is 46th on the list with a valuation of £54m, largely down to the fact that he is 35 years old.
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Top 20:
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) £162m
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) £115.2m
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) £115.2m
Sadio Mane (Liverpool) £108m
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) £108m
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) £108m
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) £108m
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) £105.3m
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) £100.8m
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) £89.1m
Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) £86.4m
Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) £72.9m
Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) £72.9m
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) £72m
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea) £72m
Leroy Sane (Manchester City) £72m
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) £72m
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) £72m
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) £72m
Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) £72m
Sports Mole has used figures from Transfermarkt for the purposes of this article.
Matt Law
