Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lead the way as the most expensive footballers on the planet

Ever wondered just how much it would cost for your club to buy Lionel Messi? While his remarkable goalscoring record for Barcelona has so far proved to be priceless, the Argentinian would no doubt set your team back a pretty penny.

Of course it’s a near impossible question – how do you put a value on someone so good he is unlikely to ever leave Barcelona? Luckily someone has done just that and complied a list of the 60 most valuable players on the planet.

With the January transfer window round the corner Brazilian sports business consulting firm Pluri Consultoria have put together the list of world football’s MVP.

Although there is bound to be some debate over the valuations – the fact Messi is valued as worth around €55 million more than Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to irk some –it is an interesting talking point about the true value of the best players from around the world.

It’s no real surprise that the top three are the three players contending Ballon D’or – Messi, Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta. Further down the list Tottenham’s Gareth Bale makes an appearance, while the highest value Premier League player is Wayne Rooney, who is valued at over €60 million.

Factors such as age and how close to the end of their contracts are taken out of the equation to leave a true representation of each player’s worth as a footballer.

So take a look at the top five most valuable football players on the planet, and see if your club can find it in their hearts to splash out over €100m for Messi….

As always, leave your comments about whether you think the list is a true reflection of each player’s value below.

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1. Lionel Messi, Barcelona – €140 million

2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid – €96.6 million

3. Andres Iniesta, Barcelona – €68.4 million

4. Wayne Rooney, Manchester United – €60.2 million

5. Radamel Falcao, Atletico Madrid – €56.1 million

Rest of the list:

6) Neymar – €55 million

7) Sergio Aguero – €53.7 million

8) Cesc Fabregas – €51.0 million

8) David Silva – €51.0 million

10) Mesut Özil – €44.0 million

11) Eden Hazard – €43.7 million

12) Angel Di María – €43.6 million

13) Karim Benzema – €42.5 million

14) Thiago Silva – €40.5 million

15) Sergio Busquets – €40 million

16) Gerard Piqué – €39.5 million

17) Hulk – €39.4 million

18) Gareth Bale – €39 million

18) Mario Gomez – €39 million

20) Juan Mata – €38.7 million

21) Gonzalo Higuain – €38.5 million

21) Robin Van Persie – €38.5 million

23) Franck Ribery – €38 million

23) Luka Modric – €38 million

25) Lucas Moura – €37.3 million

26) Nani – €35.9 million

27) Alexis Sanchez – €35.5 million

27) Edinson Cavani – €35.5 million

27) Vincent Kompany – €35.5 million

30) Sergio Ramos – €34.6 million

31) Bastian Schweinsteiger – €34.5 million

32) Yaya Toure – €34 million

33) Thomas Muller – €33.8 million

34) Mario Balotelli – €33.5 million

35) Oscar – €33.1 million

36) Zlatan Ibrahimovic – €32.6 million

37) Daniele De Rossi – €32.5 million

37) Mario Gotze – €32.5 million

39) Ramires – €32 million

40) Edin Dzeko – €31.7 million

41) Luis Suárez – €31.5 million

41) Marcelo – €31.5 million

41) Xavi – €31.5 million

44) Fernando Llorente – €31 million

45) Fernando Torres – €30.6 million

46) Ezequiel Lavezzi – €30.5 million

47) Javier Pastore – €30.2 million

47) Iker Casillas – €30.2 million

49) Axel Witsel – €29.5 million

50) Dani Alves – €29 million

51) Arturo Vidal – €28.5 million

52) Javi Martinez – €28.5 million

53) Pepe – €28.3 million

54) Claudio Marchisio – 28 million

54) Wesley Sneijder – €28 million

54) Javier Mascherano – €28 million

54) Marco Reus – €28 million

54) Pedro – €28 million

59) Robert Lewandowski – €27.5 million

60) Xabi Alonso – €27.5 million