Lionel Messi is valued almost twice as much as Cristiano Ronaldo according to a new report. The CIES Football Observatory latest annual review of trends in football values the top 60 footballers in the world with unsurprisingly the Barcelona and Real Madrid superstars topping the list. However, there is a big difference in their valutation with Messi worth between €200.2-€232.6 (£162.5m-£188.8m) according to the report, while Ronaldo trails back with a valuation of €105.7-€122.9. The report says: "This is mainly related to the younger age of the Argentinian prodigy, who was born 28 months after the Portuguese superstar.
"However, with respect to last year, Messi's market value went down €19m while that of Ronaldo's increased by €4m." Liverpool's Luis Suarez is now third on the list with the report speculating that a club might have to break the world transfer record if they wish to sign him. Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Barcelona's Neymar round-up the top five. The first British player on the list is Gareth Bale in seventh with Raheem Sterling's the highest valued English player in 15th. Southampton's Luke Shaw is the youngest player on the list. The CIES Observatory is a research group within the International Centre for Sports Studies. The research team gathers experts specialised in the statistical analysis of sport.
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