The football world is already preparing for the main sporting event of the coming years — the 2026 World Cup. In the run-up to the tournament, which will be held across the USA, Canada, and Mexico, analysts have formed a symbolic squad of the planet's most valuable young talents. This elite club includes exclusively players who have not yet reached the age of 21.
A new world record
The main gem of this symbolic team is the 18-year-old winger for the Spanish national team and Catalan giants Barcelona, Lamine Yamal. His market value has reached the historic mark of 200 million euros. Currently, the Spaniard shares the status of the world's most expensive footballer with Norwegian striker Erling Haaland of Manchester City, whose valuation is also 200 million.
However, in the rankings of young players, Yamal formally surpasses the Norwegian, as he is significantly younger than the 25-year-old leader of the "Citizens'" attack. The trio of the most expensive players is completed by Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, whose price tag is fixed at 180 million euros.
Cosmic cost of the squad
The total cost of the star "eleven" of prodigies amounted to an incredible 930 million euros. The central axis of this team is effectively occupied by players from PSG and Real Madrid. Special attention is deserved by the contribution of the Parisian giant: only three representatives of PSG — Neves, Zaire-Emery, and Doué — generate a combined value of 340 million euros. This is more than a third of the total price of the entire squad.
This generation of players is ready to dictate their terms on the fields of North America. For many of them, the upcoming World Cup will be their first adult tournament of such scale, where they will have to justify their huge price tags in practice.