No Messi or Ronaldo As Erling Haaland Leads List of Most Valuable Football Players

• Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior are among the most valuable footballers in the world
• The Premier League has the highest allocation of stars in the top 10 most prized players
• Josko Gvardiol is the only defensive-minded footballer included in the latest rankings

Erling Haaland has come out on top in the latest list of football's most valuable players, after an impressive debut season in England.

The Manchester City striker is joint-highest with fellow Champions League semi-finalist, Vinicius Junior with the Real Madrid star also on the verge of reaching his peak form.

The two have displaced Kylian Mbappe, who drops to a joint third on the list alongside Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala and Barcelona's Pedri.

The CIES Football Observatory released the new figures taking into account current performances, age, and the length of the contract of the top players.

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Players who are on short-term contracts or nearing the end of their existing contracts tend to have a low value, irrespective of how well they are performing.

Why are Messi, Ronaldo excluded?

Football's long-time top two, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo do not feature.

The former's contract at Paris Saint-Germain is up in two months' time, while the latter's move outside of Europe makes it hard for him to rub shoulders with the creme de la creme again.

There is a place on the list for Britain's record signing, Enzo Fernandez, who Chelsea paid close to €105 million in January to secure him from Benfica.

Football's top 10 most valuable

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Source: CIES Football Observatory via Bolavip.

The inclusion of Gvardiol is no mean feat, given that defenders often struggle to be included in rankings of this kind. The Croatian had a wonderful World Cup campaign and is one of the most exciting defensive prospects.

Vinicius' message to Mbappe, Haaland

Sports Brief had earlier reported that on a night the world wanted to see what more Haaland could conjure, it was Vinicius Junior who exceeded expectations.

The Real Madrid marksman has been offering constant reminders to anyone wanting to hear and listen, that he is the next big thing or already among them.

Taking the ball from a powerful Eduardo Camavinga run on May 9, the Brazilian sized up Ederson in the Man City goal and send a thunderbolt shot past him.