England have the most valuable squad at the Qatar World Cup 2022, with the team’s Jude Bellingham topping a list of more than 800 football players in terms of transfer value, a study has found.

According to a study by Swiss research group CIES Football Observatory, England’s 26-man squad is worth just less than 1.5 billion euros ($1.54bn) in transfer value, with 19-year-old Bellingham valued at 202 million euros ($207.4m).

The Borussia Dortmund player enhanced his reputation as one of the world’s top young players with a superb goal in England’s 6-2 victory over Iran in their World Cup tournament opener on Monday.

England's Jude Bellingham celebrates after the England vs Iran game at Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar.

Here is a look at how the other major football teams compare at the World Cup tournament:

Transfer Value
Brazil are second on the list after England with a transfer value of 1.45 billion euros ($1.49bn), and Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was their most valuable player at 200 million euros ($205m).

France were third with an estimated transfer value of 1.34 billion ($1.38bn) for their squad. Paris St Germain (PSG) forward Kylian Mbappe was their top player, with a value of 185 million euros ($190m).

France's Kylian Mbappe in action during the France vs Peru World Cup match in 2018 in Ekaterinburg Arena, Yekaterinburg, Russia.

The top three were followed by Spain at 1.2 billion euros ($1.23bn), Portugal at 1.15 billion euros ($1.18bn) and Germany at 1.02 billion euros ($1.05bn).

The CIES Football Observatory put the overall value of all the squads at the World Cup 2022 at 15 billion euros ($15.4bn) based on a statistical technique involving more than 2,000 transactions of players transferred from clubs in the five major European leagues during the period from July 2012 to November 2021.

Insurable value:
In terms of insurable value, England’s squad again topped the list of World Cup teams with an estimated insurable value of 3.17 billion pounds ($3.76bn), according to an analysis by Lloyd’s of London and backed by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

England edged out France at 2.66 billion pounds ($3.15bn) and Brazil at 2.56 billion pounds ($3.04bn) to claim the top spot.

Lloyd’s said the assessment of insurable value comprises a variety of metrics such as wages, sponsorship, age and on-field positions.

Bellingham was rated the most insurable player, followed by Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.

Lloyd’s model is based on the belief that the quality of a team can be assessed by measuring factors such as player salaries, incomes from endorsements, and ages, as the value of a team is a good indicator of its talent on the pitch. 

Source: Al jazeera 

BDST: 1252 HRS, NOV 22, 2022
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