Lamine Yamal Named Most Valuable Player In World Soccer With $400 Million Price Tag

Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal has been named as the most valuable player on the planet in the 2026 CIES' Football Observatory top 100 list. Barca's young forward has seen his stock continue to grow in the last 12 months, earning second place in the Ballon d'Or rankings, behind Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele. Bizarrely, however, the latest winner of the prestigious award has not been included in the top 100.

Yamal has had a busy year. After winning La Liga with Barcelona, the Spaniard has accelerated his development even further under Hansi Flick, becoming the Blaugrana's talisman and MVP on and off the pitch. He has even started his own YouTube channel, which has amassed over one million subscribers in just a few days. After emerging the famed La Masia academy, the Barca hierarchy have a permanently smug look etched onto their faces after tracking Yamal's success. The CIES Football Observatory have valued the 18-year-old at a staggering €343 million (£297m). He surges ahead of both Erling Haaland (£221m) and Kylian Mbappe (£174m).

The only man to be voted as a better footballer than Yamal - PSG's Dembele - has surprisingly been left out of the top 100. Despite earning the biggest individual accolade in the sport, the 28-year-old does not beat out 99th-placed Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan, who has a value of €62m (£53m). The Frenchman capped off a fantastic 2025 by being handed FIFA's 'The Best' award, to go alongside his Ballon d'Or, Champions League, Ligue 1, French Cup and French Super Cup trophies. The news comes at a moment when many are questioning Dembele's future at PSG, with the World Cup winner making just 15 appearances in all competitions this term, and struggling to stay fit - with injuries