The 10 highest valued under-21 players in the world

Cameron Smith

• 15 Sep 2023 09:28 CDT
• 4 min read

New Real Madrid recruit Jude Bellingham is the highest-valued player aged 21 or under in world football.

The Englishman clocks in at an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €122.5 million following his switch to Los Blancos from Borussia Dortmund. Still only 19, Bellingham shone at the 2022 World Cup and hit 12 goals and five assists across all competitions last term.

He has also taken to life at Real Madrid like a duck to water and is now the third most valuable player in the entirety of world football - behind only Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

READ: The 10 highest valued players in the world

Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala, who scored the Bavarians' title-winning goal last season, is second on the list with an ETV of €94.9m.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi is the third highest-valued player aged 21 or under, with an ETV of €76.2m. That has dropped significantly from his €102.9m ETV in April.

Following his impressive breakout onto the senior stage, the young Spanish superstar was linked with a transfer to the Premier League due to a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave if Barcelona were unable to register him, but that is behind him now and he remains a key part of Xavi's imperious Blaugrana.

READ: What are the most expensive transfers of all time? The 50 highest fees in history

Bellingham's new team-mate Eduardo Camavinga's ETV has been rising rapidly and now sits at €74.5m, beating out Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol (€74.2m) and Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo (€73.1m).

Caicedo was valued at just €38m when he joined the Blues, but has seen his ETV increase hugely following his move to Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri has suffered an ETV drop over the past year due to consistent injury problems. The Spaniard is now the seventh-most valuable player aged 21 or under in world football, with an ETV of €60m. That figure was as high as €76.5m in April 2023.

Manchester United summer signing Rasmus Hojlund is eighth thanks to his €51.9m valuation, although his ETV rose massively when he left Atalanta. He was valued at just €37.4m when he moved to Old Trafford.

Yeremy Pino (€48.2m) and Ryan Gravenberch (€48m) complete the top 10.

The 10 highest valued U21 players in world football

How the values are calculated

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) explained

Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world.

Read more here.

Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world. It uses information on the player's skill, potential, performance, contract duration, position and other statistics to estimate an accurate ETV.

Read more here.

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