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Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and Raheem Sterling among world's most valuable players in study

Liverpool's Raheem Sterling during the FA Cup Sixth Round Replay against Blackburn at Ewood Park

Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling is the sixth most valuable player in Europe at £60m, while Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is worth more than Cristiano Ronaldo, according to a new transfer study.

The study has been carried out by a team of statisticians at the Football Observatory, a research group in the International Centre for Sports Studies which was founded in 1995 as a joint-venture between FIFA and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The Football Observatory itself was established in 2005 and has undertaken research for both FIFA and UEFA.

Their newly-published report makes four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi by far the most expensive player with a value of £205m following another stellar season with Barcelona.

Their findings are based on in-depth analysis which takes into account age, position, contract situation, international status, experience and on-pitch performance, and Chelsea star Hazard is second in the list with a value of £109m having shone for the Blues and signed a lucrative new contract in February.

lionel
Image: Barcelona's Lionel Messi is rated as the world's most valuable player at £205m, £96m more than second-placed Eden Hazard

Real Madrid’s Ronaldo has fallen to third with a value of £92m since the Football Observatory’s last study in January 2015, while Barcelona’s Neymar is deemed to be worth £72m, ahead of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (£63m) and the £60m Sterling.

The 20-year-old, who has been strongly linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, is the most valuable English player in the study and the youngest player in the top 30.

Diego Costa has been linked with a move away from Chelsea
Image: Diego Costa has been linked with a move away from Chelsea

The rest of the top 10 is made up of Paul Pogba, the in-demand Juventus midfielder whose value is calculated at £57m, Chelsea striker Diego Costa (£56m), Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez (£55m) and James Rodriguez (£50m), who joined Real Madrid in a big money deal from Monaco last summer.

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Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas is judged to be the next most expensive Premier League player at £47m, which puts him 13th in the list, two places ahead of Tottenham’s Harry Kane.

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring at Anfield
Image: Tottenham's Harry Kane is valued at £43m, according to the study, making him the 15th most expensive player in the world

The Spurs youth product is valued at £43m after a stunning breakthrough campaign in which he scored 32 goals for club and country, making him more expensive than his former team-mate Gareth Bale, whose value has fallen to £41m just two years after his world record £85m move to Real Madrid.

Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho is 17th at £40.6m, closely followed by Chelsea duo Thibaut Courtois and Oscar, who the study values at £40.5m and £38.2m respectively.

Philippe Coutinho celebrates his goal after putting Liverpool 1-0 up against QPR
Image: Philippe Coutinho shone for Liverpool in 2014/15

Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen (£32.4), Everton’s Romelu Lukaku (£32m), Chelsea’s Willian (£31.1m) and City’s David Silva (£30.6m) are the only other Premier League players in the top 30, while Manchester United’s £59.7m summer signing Angel Di Maria is 31st and now valued at just £29.7m after a disappointing season at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney is rated as United's next most valuable player, with an estimated worth of £28.9m putting him 33rd in the list.

As for other transfer targets for Premier League clubs outside the top 30, Manchester City-linked midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is 32nd in the list and valued at £29.6m after impressing for Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates against Bayern Munich by holding his black armband aloft in tribute to Junior Malanda
Image: Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne is reportedly wanted by Manchester City

Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette has also been linked with a move to England and is valued at £28.6m, while Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain is estimated to be worth £27.4m. Reported Liverpool target Mateo Kovacic, who plays for Inter Milan, is valued at £23.7m.

United target Mats Hummels is also in the top 100 with a value of £21m, while Barcelona forward Pedro is given a value of £18.2m. Surprisingly, United goalkeeper David De Gea, who has been strongly linked with a move to Madrid, is only rated at £17.9m, putting him 95th in the list.

The Football Observatory’s top 50 most expensive players

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) £205m

2. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) £109m

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) £92m

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Celta Vigo on April 26, 2015
Image: Third-placed Cristiano Ronaldo has been overtaken by Eden Hazard

4. Neymar (Barcelona) £72m

5. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) £63m

6. Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) £60m

7. Paul Pogba (Juventus) £57m

8. Diego Costa (Chelsea) £56m

9. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) £55m

Image: Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez impressed in his first season at the Emirates

10. James Rodriguez (Real Madrid) £50m

11. Luis Suarez (Barcelona) £48.2m

12. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) £47.5

13. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) £47m

14. Isco Alcoron (Real Madrid) £46m

15. Harry Kane (Tottenham) £43m

16. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) £41m

Gareth Bale
Image: Gareth Bale endured a difficult season with Real Madrid

17. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) £40.6m

18. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) £40.5m

19. Oscar (Chelsea) £38.2m

20. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) £36m

21. Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich) £34.5

22. Koke Resurreccion (Atletico Madrid) £33.1m

23. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) £32.4m

24. Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £32m

Romelu Lukaku celebrates his hat-trick
Image: Romelu Lukaku scored 20 goals for Everton in all competitions last season

25. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) £31.9m

26. Willian (Chelsea) £31.1m

27. Alvaro Morata (Juventus) £30.9m

28. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) £30.7m

29. David Silva (Manchester City) £30.6m

30. Edinson Cavani (Paris St Germain) £30.4m

31. Angel Di Maria (Manchester United) £29.7m

Image: Manchester United's Angel Di Maria

32. Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg) £29.6m

33. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) £28.9m

34. Marco Verratti (Paris St Germain) £28.7m

35. Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £28.6m

36. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) £28.5m

37. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) £28.6m

38. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) £28.3m

39. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) £27.5m

Manuel Neuer of FC Bayern Munich during the Bundesliga match between Bayern Muenchen and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Allianz Arena.
Image: Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich is ranked 39th

40. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) £27.4m

41. Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli)  £27.4m

42. Ross Barkley (Everton) £27m

43. Yaya Toure (Manchester City) £26.7m

44. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) £26.6m

45. Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) £26m

46. Santi Cazorla (Arsenal) £25.8m

Santi Cazorla, missed chance, Arsenal v Liverpool, Premier League
Image: Santi Cazorla is also in the top 50

47. Danny Welbeck (Arsenal) £25.7m

48. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) £25.6m

49. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) £25.5m

50. Miralem Pjanic (Roma) £25.4m

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