Italian national team and Milan goalkeeper Gigio Donnarumma has been identified as the most valuable U21 Italian football player in the world, according to the Soccerex 20 U21 report by Prime Time Sport (PTS).
The rankings are made using the ‘Football Value Index’ by PTS, which they claim is a best-in-class player valuation methodology that is used by football clubs and the sport industry to obtain an independent and accurate valuation of football players.
This index is composed of a multitude of variables and statistics which are combined in an algorithm with different weights to create an index.
Donnarumma, considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and heir to Gianluigi Buffon, is only ranked 8th in the top 20, coming in at a value of €40.6M. The top three are Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur, €82.6M), Kylian Mbappé (AS Monaco, €61.8M) and Ousmane Dembélé (Borussia Dortmund,€60.9M).
Table: Ranking of Top 20 U21 most valuable players
Here are some interesting facts we can gather from this report:
- To no surprise, all the 20 players play in the top 5 leagues in Europe (Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Premier League and Ligue 1)
- France dominates the list with 5 players
- Germany and England have the most players playing in their respective leagues, with 5 each
- Spain and Italy are second, with 3 players each playing in their respective leagues
- Strikers make up most of the list, with 6
Given the increased TV revenues which helps teams spend more on transfer budgets it is no coincidence there has been a significant increase in player values. The combined value of the top 20 ranked players is €738.7M, an increase of more than €285M than last year (+63%). This dramatic increase is further evidenced by looking at the player who topped the rankings (Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli). His valuation of €82.6M increased from €48.5M last year, where he was ranked fourth, a year-over-year increase of 142%.
