The coronavirus pandemic is likely to have an impact on the valuations of many players at top clubs, at least for the short term.
Football will recover, though, and it would still not be a surprise to see transfers in excess of £100m taking place during this summer's transfer window.
Here, Sports Mole runs through the top 20 world's most valuable squads, and there are interestingly eight Premier League clubs on the list.
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Manchester City are at the head of the list with a valuation of £916.92m, which is perhaps not too much of a surprise considering the talent at the Etihad Stadium. The Citizens lead their domestic rivals Liverpool in this particular table, but the Reds are the reigning European champions and have also run away with the Premier League this term, albeit without yet being crowned the champions.
The fact that Real Madrid and Barcelona are third and fourth respectively is also a big talking point, although it is not too surprising to see Paris Saint-Germain in the top five. The French champions are still struggling to make a serious impact at European level but were always going to be high up due to Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Atletico Madrid follow sixth-placed Bayern Munich in the list, with Diego Simeone's squad being handed a valuation of £638.10m. Jan Oblak is actually the highest-valued goalkeeper in the game, while Joao Felix has a market value of £72.90m despite struggling to impress since arriving in a big-money move last summer.
Three Premier League clubs in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester United are next, and it is a surprise to see the Red Devils down in 10th. Paul Pogba is the highest-rated player in the United squad, with Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Anthony Martial second, third and fourth respectively.
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Juventus are also quite low in 11th, followed by Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Inter Milan. Napoli also make the top 15 despite struggling for domestic form this season; their high valuation is helped by central defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who continues to be linked with a big-money move away from the Italian club.
Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz, meanwhile, also continues to be linked with a summer exit; Barcelona and Real Madrid are both thought to be keen, while Liverpool and Manchester City have also been credited with an interest.
RB Leipzig and Valencia are 16th and 17th respectably, while there are two more Premier League clubs in the selection in the shape of Everton and Leicester City. On first glance, it is somewhat of a surprise to see them in the top 20, but there is no question that both clubs are packed full of talent.
The final team on the list is Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen. The German side have seven players in their squad valued over £20m, but Kai Havertz is clear at the top with £72.9m. Indeed, the 20-year-old is believed to be a big-money target for the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United.
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Top 20 most valuable squads:
Manchester City £916.92m
Liverpool £870.26m
Real Madrid £799.65m
Barcelona £767.39m
Paris Saint-Germain £759.29m
Bayern Munich £680.92m
Atletico Madrid £638.10m
Tottenham Hotspur £629.10m
Chelsea £611.91m
Manchester United £582.03m
Juventus £553.23m
Borussia Dortmund £527.45m
Arsenal £521.42m
Inter Milan £498.02m
Napoli £473.94m
RB Leipzig £470.32m
Valencia £383.58m
Everton £367.07m
Leicester City £363.06m
Bayer Leverkusen £344.84m
Sports Mole has used figures from Transfermarkt for the purposes of this article.
Matt Law
