Ronaldinho, Messi, Mbappé: Development of record market values over time

€45m—what was the record market value on Transfermarkt in October 2004 would only rank you in 122nd place today. Ronaldo and Thierry Henry began at the top of the rankings but were passed by several legends of the game over the coming years—right now, two players tower at the very top. As part of 20 years of market values on Transfermarkt, we look back to how those values developed since 2004. 

The benchmark set by Ronaldo and Henry at the very start of market values would only last for a few weeks. In December, Ronaldinho saw his market value increase to €50m and would rank at the top for the next five years. The Brazilian reached two more benchmarks while at his peak in Spain; in 2006, he reached a market value of €70m, and in 2007, Ronaldinho marked his personal zenith with a market value of €80m. In his fourth year at Barcelona, he scored 21 goals in LaLiga—a personal best in the playmaker’s career. 

After Ronaldinho’s departure, Barcelona had an immediate successor, Lionel Messi. On his way to the top, he would pulverize several records. First, the €80m mark, and then in August 2010, he would set a new benchmark when he became the first player in history with a market value of €100m. From then on, Messi would be sitting at the very top until October 2017 and reach a peak market value of €120m; only his rival Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid could keep the pace. To underline the duo’s dominance, they were the only two players with a market value of €100m or more for many years. 

Until Neymar arrived to set new benchmarks himself. In 2015, the Brazilian reached the €100m benchmark, and then, in 2017, he became the most expensive player in the history of the game when he joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barca in a deal worth €222m. As a result, the market value of the Brazilian would reach €150m, stepping out of Messi’s shadow. But Messi wouldn’t be overshadowed long himself and, in 2018, would reach a new record when his market value rose to €180m—a few weeks later first Neymar and then in October, Kylian Mbappé would equal that record. 

Mbappé wasn’t at the end of his development, however. On Dec. 17, 2018, the PSG striker turned 19 and became the first player to reach a market value of €200m. It would take almost six years for another player to equalize that benchmark. First, this October, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland was upgraded to €200m, and then, just a few days later, Real’s Vinicius Junior reached a market value of €200m as well.