Lionel Messi Would Cost £172Million If Sold This Month, Will You Pay?

Lionel Messi would cost a whopping £172m should any of Barcelona's rivals want to whisk him away this month, according to research into the current market values of the world's leading players, MailOnline Reports.

The Argentine star comfortably tops a CIES Football Observatory countdown of football's most valuable players and is worth £68m more than his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

The totals serve as a 'guide price' for the January transfer window, using a calculation that takes into account player performance, age, contract and the results of their team.

The top 10 features six Premier League players - Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea, Sergio Aguero of Manchester City, Raheem Sterling of Liverpool and Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal.

But it finds Messi far and away the most expensive player in Europe at the moment.

Ronaldo, the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or for the world's best player this month, is valued at £104.3m should someone try to prise him away from European champions Real.

Chelsea's Eden Hazard comes in at a cool £77.6m, followed by his team-mate, the free-scoring Diego Costa at £65.9m.

Paul Pogba, of Juventus and France, is fifth on the list at £56.4m while Manchester City's prolific Argentine Sergio Aguero is just above the £50m mark.

Liverpool's Sterling (£49.4m), Chelsea's Fabregas (£48.6m), Arsenal's Sanchez (£47.8m) and Real's Gareth Bale (£47m), who commanded the world's biggest transfer fee in 2013, complete the top 10.

The values of everyone in the top 10 except Messi and Bale has increased since the last ranking was released in June. The CIES Football Observatory used their own algorithm based on 1,500 completed transfers since 2009 to work out the current 'price guide'.

It also takes into consideration player performance such as goals, assists and other on-pitch stats as well as their age, position and contract duration. It also weighs up results achieved by their club and national teams.

The star-studded list also features the likes of Neymar (11th, £45.4m), Angel Di Maria (12th, £44.6m), Luis Suarez (16th, £37.6m) and Radamel Falcao (60th, £21.9m).
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