Top 5 Most Valuable Football Matches Based On Market Value Features Three All-English Ties

With Arsenal recently joining Manchester City as one of only two teams to surpass the €1billion squad value mark, it got us thinking here at Sportslens. Join us as we rewind the clock to determine the most valuable football matches based on market value.

• Using football database Transfermarkt, we are able to look at player market values at any given point.
• Only one of the five most valuable football matches fails to feature an English team.
• Liverpool and Manchester City’s relentless rivalry in recent years is reflected by multiple inclusions on this list.

Most Valuable Football Matches Based On Market Value

=3. Manchester City vs Liverpool (2020)

• November 8th, 2020
• Final Score: 1-1
• Combined Market Value: €1.46bn

Following a stalemate at the Etihad Stadium in which Kevin De Bruyne missed from the penalty spot, Manchester City found themselves in 10th place with just 12 points from seven games.

Off the back of Liverpool snatching the Premier League title the season prior, there was an air of uncertainty surrounding City in November 2020. However, as history would show, this puzzling early season form was nothing more than a blip as they stormed towards the title, eventually finishing 12 points above second-placed Manchester United.

Liverpool Market Value – 2020/21

Alisson (€60m), Alexander-Arnold (€75m), Matip (€18m), Gomez (€30m), Robertson (€65m), Henderson (€20m), Wijnaldum (€30m), Jota (€45m), Mane (€85m), Firmino (€50m) Salah (€100m).

Manchester City Market Value – 2020/21

Ederson (€50m), Walker (€20m), Laporte (€45m), Dias (€75m), Cancelo (€55m), Rodri (€70m), Gundogan (€40m), De Bruyne (€100m), Torres (€50m), Sterling (€90m), Jesus (€60m).

=3. Liverpool vs Manchester City (2019)

• August 4th, 2019
• Final Score: 4-5 on Penalties
• Combined Market Value: €1.46bn

The 2019 Community Shield saw Manchester City lift the first silverware of the season off the back of a fascinating Premier League season, where they finished just one point above Liverpool.

City won both the league and the FA Cup the season prior while Liverpool dominated in Europe to beat Tottenham in the Champions League final; the 2018/19 season was perhaps the height of the Guardiola/Klopp rivalry.

The Reds agonisingly fell short having lost just once in the Premier League, but they would of course go on to lift their first title in three decades.

Liverpool Market Value – 2019/20

Alisson (€72m), Alexander-Arnold (€99m), Matip (€32m), Van Dijk (€80m), Robertson (€64m), Henderson (€28m), Wijnaldum (€40m), Fabinho (€56m), Origi (€16m), Firmino (€72m) Salah (€120m).

Manchester City Market Value – 2019/20

Bravo (€1.2m), Walker (€40m), Stones (€36m), Otamendi (€14.5m), Zinchenko (€24m), Rodri (€64m), Silva (€12m), De Bruyne (€120m), Silva (€80m), Sterling (€128m), Sane (€80m).

Biggest Decreases in Market Value Over the 2022/23 Season

=3. Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid (2019)

• April 6th, 2019
• Final Score: 2-0
• Combined Market Value: €1.46bn

With Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure leaving Real Madrid with a discernible lack of goals, Barcelona blew away the competition in La Liga, eventually finishing 11 points above Atletico Madrid having scored 90 goals in 38 matches.

This particular match signified the end of Atleti’s title challenge as Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi notched in their 18th and 33rd goals of the season respectively.

Although it was a transitioning Barca side that saw Andres Iniesta leave at the start of the season, the combined value of their players still placed them among the most valuable teams in the world.

As for Atleti, remnants of their Champions League final team from three years prior still remained, with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Koke and Saul chief among them.

Barcelona Market Value – 2018/19

Ter Stegen (€90m), Sergi Roberto (€50m), Pique (€35m), Lenglet (€60m), Alba (€50m), Arthur (€70m), Busquets (€50m), Rakitic (€40m), Coutinho (€90m), Suarez (€50m), Messi (€150m).

Atlético Madrid Market Value – 2018/19

Oblak (€100m), Arias (€18m), Godin (€20m), Giminez (€70m), Luis (€3m), Partey (€50m), Rodri (€80m), Koke (€70m), Saul (€90m), Costa (€25m), Griezmann (€130m).

2. Atletico Madrid vs Liverpool (2020)

• February 18th, 2020
• Final Score: 1-0
• Combined Market Value: €1.47bn

The summer prior saw Liverpool lift their first Champions League title since *that* night in Istanbul, but fast-forward to a fateful February meeting with Atlético Madrid in the round of 16, and their hopes of retaining their title were left hanging in the balance.

A star-studded Liverpool side had seen their stock increase immeasurably off the back of their European triumph, with at least five players valued at €70m or above.

Saul’s match winning goal saw the hosts take a slender lead to Merseyside, where a chaotic extra-time period saw Atleti prevail with a 3-2 victory, courtesy of a famous double from Marcos Llorente.

⏪📊| Marcos Llorente vs Liverpool:

▫️64 Minutes Played
▫️2 Goals
▫️1 Assist
▫️19 Touches
▫️8 (80%) Accurate Passes
▫️2 Key Passes
▫️1 Big Chance Created
▫️2 Shots On Target
▫️2 Clearances

One of the best individual Champions League performances? pic.twitter.com/WiVLfv5Q8n

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) October 19, 2021

Liverpool Market Value – 2019/20

Alisson (€72m), Alexander-Arnold (€99m), Matip (€32m), Van Dijk (€80m), Robertson (€64m), Henderson (€28m), Wijnaldum (€40m), Fabinho (€56m), Origi (€16m), Firmino (€72m) Salah (€120m).

Atletico Madrid Market Value – 2019/20

Oblak (€80m), Vrsaljko (€12m), Savic (€25.6m), Felipe (€25.5m), Lodi (€31.5m), Partey (€40m), Lemar (€24m), Koke (€48m), Saul (€72m), Morata (€36m), Correa (€32m).

1. Liverpool vs Manchester (2019)

• November 10th, 2019
• Final Score: 3-1
• Combined Market Value: €1.53bn

In what would eventually prove to be decisive blow in the title race, goals from Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane sunk Manchester City and left them nine points adrift in November.

This would stretch to 18 points by the end of the season – an almost unthinkable feat following City’s historic treble-winning year last term.

There have been countless iconic rivalries down the years, but you’d be hard pushed to find a head-to-head that continually produced such quality, high-octane fixtures. This is reflected in both teams’s market values at the time, making this particular meeting in the winter of 2019 the most lucrative group of players ever assembled on one pitch.

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