| Updated: Every season produces a few footballers whose rise feels much faster than expected. Some were barely part of the wider conversation a year earlier, only to become major names within months. Others were already highly rated, but used another strong campaign to move into an even more expensive bracket. That contrast between sudden breakouts and established stars climbing higher is what makes this year’s biggest valuation jumps especially interesting.
SportingPedia compared market values from 1 July 2025 with current July 2026 estimates to identify the footballers whose valuations rose the most over the past 12 months. The ranking includes 20 footballers whose valuations have risen by at least €40 million.
Yan Diomande leads by a clear margin. The RB Leipzig winger was valued at €1.5 million on 1 July 2025 and is now valued at €90 million, giving him an increase of €88.5 million. No other player gained more than €60 million over the same period. Manchester City have the most players in the ranking with four, followed by PSG with three, while Bayern Munich and Bournemouth each have two.
Footballers with the Biggest Increase
in Market Value for the Last Year
Data Source: Transfermarkt
Diomande’s €88.5 million rise is the biggest market-value increase recorded over the past year. The Ivorian winger arrived at RB Leipzig from Leganés as a little-known teenager, but quickly became one of the Bundesliga’s biggest breakout players, recording 12 goals and nine assists in 33 league matches and earning the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award. That combination of production, age profile and rapid rise at Leipzig explains why his market value moved from €1.5 million to €90 million in a single year. His €88.5 million increase puts him €28.5 million ahead of the next players on the list, Vitinha and João Neves. The size of that gap is significant because both PSG players also recorded major jumps, rising by €60 million each.
The top four contain two very different types of valuation surge. Vitinha and João Neves were already valued at €80 million last summer and have moved into the €140 million bracket. Their increases also reflect PSG’s wider momentum, with the club’s leading players continuing to rise in value after a second consecutive Champions League triumph.
Diomande and Lennart Karl followed a very different path. Both were valued at just €1.5 million on 1 July 2025, but Diomande is now valued at €90 million and Karl at €60 million. Their jumps are the clearest examples in the ranking of players moving from low starting valuations into the top end of the market within a year.
Junior Kroupi completes the top five after rising from €15 million to €70 million. Nico O’Reilly follows with a €52 million increase, moving from €18 million to €70 million. Along with Diomande and Karl, they show how quickly young players can move into the €60m-plus range when their roles and reputations grow rapidly.
Three players share seventh place with €50 million increases. Michael Olise rose from €100 million to €150 million, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia moved from €90 million to €140 million, and Fermín López doubled from €50 million to €100 million. Unlike some of the players above them, all three were already highly valued a year ago, so their rises came from a much higher base.
The next group is tightly packed. Luka Vušković gained €48 million, Igor Thiago gained €47 million, and Rayan rose by €46 million. Four players then share 13th place with €45 million increases: Rayan Cherki, Arda Güler, Nico Paz and Jérémy Jacquet.
Manchester City have the most players in the top 20, with Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Elliot Anderson and Antoine Semenyo all included. Anderson is listed as a Manchester City player, but his rise was largely built on standout performances for Nottingham Forest before his recent move to City. That distinction matters, as the ranking uses current club affiliation while the value increase reflects the full year.
PSG have three names in the ranking and the strongest presence near the top. Vitinha and João Neves are tied for second, while Kvaratskhelia also appears inside the top 10. Bayern Munich and Bournemouth each have two players listed, with Bayern represented by Lennart Karl and Michael Olise, and Bournemouth by Junior Kroupi and Rayan.