Football Leagues Ranked by the Combined Market Value of Their Top 11 Players

Written by Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp is an experienced sports writer covering Soccer, NBA and NHL. He also writes in depth reviews of sports betting sites based on his personal experience.

, | Updated: February 5, 2026

Market value is often used as a shorthand for a domestic league’s strength, with squad and league valuations consistently placing the Premier League at the top of the global hierarchy. That framing, however, blends elite talent with squad-depth and mid-table spending power. By narrowing the lens to only the most valuable players in each competition, a different picture emerges – one that focuses on star concentration rather than financial mass. To isolate the star layer, Sportingpedia analysed the world’s 11 highest-valued leagues by combining the market values of each competition’s 11 most valuable players and ranking the leagues by that combined total.

The results challenge some of football’s most familiar assumptions. La Liga ranks first, with its top 11 players combining for €1,395 million, overtaking the Premier League (€1,260 million) despite England’s dominance in full-squad valuations. That gap is not marginal: it reflects a fundamentally different structure in how value is concentrated, driven in Spain by a small number of extremely high-valued individuals clustered around two clubs.

Combined Market Value of Each League’s 11 Most Valuable Players

Data Source: Transfermarkt

La Liga sits at the top of the ranking, with elite value overwhelmingly concentrated in Real Madrid and Barcelona. Real Madrid supply six of the league’s 11 most valuable players, led by Kylian Mbappe (€200m), Jude Bellingham (€160m) and Vinicius Junior (€150m), while Barcelona contribute four through Lamine Yamal (€200m), Pedri (€140m), Raphinha (€80m) and Pau Cubarsi (€80m). Atletico Madrid appear only once via Julian Alvarez (€100m). The presence of two €200m players at the top creates a clear structural advantage, pushing La Liga well ahead of every other league despite the elite group being drawn from just three clubs.

The Premier League ranks second, but their elite value is distributed across a broader set of clubs. Liverpool account for five of the top 11 players, including Florian Wirtz (€110m), Alexander Isak (€120m), Ryan Gravenberch (€90m), Hugo Ekitike (€85m) and Alexis Mac Allister (€85m). Arsenal contribute three players through Bukayo Saka (€130m), Declan Rice (€120m) and William Saliba (€90m), while Chelsea add Cole Palmer (€120m) and Moises Caicedo (€110m). Manchester City are represented only by Erling Haaland (€200m), who remains the league’s highest-valued individual. Unlike La Liga, there is no second ultra-high peak, with the total instead built on a dense cluster of players in the €85–130m range.

Ligue 1 forms the third tier, but with the most extreme concentration of elite value in the dataset. Paris Saint-Germain supply 10 of the league’s 11 most valuable players, led by Joao Neves and Vitinha at €110m each, followed by Ousmane Dembele (€100m), Desire Doue (€90m) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€90m). Marseille are the only other club represented, through Mason Greenwood (€50m). Despite PSG’s dominance, the absence of players valued above €110m limits Ligue 1’s overall total, leaving it clearly behind La Liga and the Premier League.

The Bundesliga shows a similar concentration pattern to Ligue 1, though at a lower ceiling. Bayern Munich contribute eight of the 11 most valuable players, including Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise at €130m each. Borussia Dortmund appear twice through Karim Adeyemi (€60m) and Nico Schlotterbeck (€55m), while RB Leipzig are represented once via Yan Diomande (€45m). Beyond Musiala and Olise, valuations drop sharply into the €50-70m range, and the lack of any player above €130m caps the league’s elite total below the top three.

Serie A completes the top five with a more balanced elite structure than Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga. Inter supply five players, led by Lautaro Martinez (€85m) and Alessandro Bastoni (€80m), alongside Marcus Thuram (€60m), Nicolo Barella (€60m) and Federico Dimarco (€50m). Milan contribute Rafael Leao (€70m) and Christian Pulisic (€60m), Juventus appear through Kenan Yildiz (€75m), while Como, Roma and Fiorentina each add one player. With no individual valued above €85m, Serie A’s total is built on multiple high-end assets across several clubs rather than on a small number of dominant stars.

Liga Portugal comes in sixth place, but its elite profile already sits far below the major leagues. The league’s top 11 market value is driven entirely by the traditional big three, with Sporting supplying five players, Porto four and Benfica two. Morten Hjulmand and Samu Aghehowa top the list at €50m each, followed closely by Goncalo Inacio, Ousmane Diomande and Geovany Quenda. The absence of any player valued above €50m underlines the gap separating Portugal from the elite leagues, even though value at the top remains tightly concentrated among a small number of clubs.

The Turkish Super Lig shows a much steeper internal imbalance. Victor Osimhen alone accounts for €75m, representing almost a quarter of the league’s entire top-11 value. Galatasaray dominate the elite group with six players, while Fenerbahce contribute four and Besiktas appear once through Orkun Kokcu. Outside Osimhen, valuations fall quickly into the €20-32m range, highlighting how the league’s elite value depends heavily on a single superstar rather than a broad high-end core.

The Saudi Pro League presents a different elite profile altogether. Its top 11 is spread across five clubs, with Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah all represented. Mateo Retegui leads the list at €40m, followed by Darwin Nunez (€35m) and Theo Hernandez (€28m). Unlike European leagues, there is no single club or individual dominating the elite total. Instead, value is evenly distributed and capped, reflecting a market built on imported, peak-age players rather than youth-driven resale assets.

Brazil’s Serie A mirrors that flatter structure, though with a stronger domestic core. Flamengo supply five of the league’s top 11 players, including Lucas Paqueta, Samuel Lino and Giorgian de Arrascaeta, while Palmeiras contribute two. The remaining players are spread across Corinthians, Botafogo, and Cruzeiro. No player exceeds €35m, reinforcing the idea that Brazil’s elite market value is broad but shallow, shaped more by internal competition and player churn than by extreme individual valuations.

The Eredivisie sits just behind Brazil, with elite value concentrated primarily in PSV and Feyenoord. PSV contribute four players, Feyenoord three, while Ajax and AZ account for the remaining spots with two footballers each. Ismael Saibari leads the league at €32m, followed by Joey Veerman (€27m). As with Brazil, the lack of high-end valuations limits the league’s total, despite representation from multiple clubs and a strong emphasis on development-stage players.

MLS ranks last among the analysed leagues, with the lowest combined value for their top 11 players. Elite value is widely dispersed, with no club contributing more than two players. Riqui Puig tops the list at €18m, followed closely by Heung-min Son (€17m) and Evander (€16m). Even Lionel Messi’s presence does not materially lift the total, as individual valuations remain modest compared to other leagues. The distribution reflects a league built on parity and salary controls rather than elite market concentration.