--- title: "Ponomarenko — the most expensive young forward outside Europe's top-5 leagues: UPL sweeps the entire top-3 of the CIES ranking" description: "According to CIES data, Matvey Ponomarenko, the striker for Kyiv's Dynamo, has become the most valuable central forward under 21 outside Europe's top-5 leagues. Two players from Donetsk's Shakhtar also made the top-3 of the ranking." date: 2026-08-27T09:04:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ponomarenko-most-expensive-young-forward-upl-cies-ranking tags: [ukrainian-premier-league, dynamo-kyiv, shakhtar-donetsk, cies, football, ponomarenko] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Ponomarenko — the most expensive young forward outside Europe's top-5 leagues: UPL sweeps the entire top-3 of the CIES ranking ![Dynamo player Kyrylo Ponomarenko in white and blue kit with number 11 on the football field](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/27/ponomarenko-samyy-dorogoy-molodoy-forvard-upl-reyting-cies/ponomarenko-samyy-dorogoy-molodoy-forvard-upl-reyting-cies-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Matvey Ponomarenko (Dynamo) topped the CIES ranking as the most expensive central forward under 21 outside Europe's top-5 leagues — €26.8 million. - The entire top three of the ranking was made up of UPL players: Lucas Meirelles in 2nd place and Kauã Elias in 3rd (both of Shakhtar). - Ponomarenko was the top scorer of the UPL last season; on 26 March 2026 he debuted for the Ukraine national team and scored his first goal in the match against Sweden. Matvey Ponomarenko, the striker for Kyiv's Dynamo, has topped the ranking by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) and become the most valuable central forward under the age of 21 among players competing outside the five leading European leagues. Analysts have valued his transfer fee at €26.8 million. Notably, the entire top three of the list was made up of representatives of the Ukrainian Premier League, a striking signal of the growing competitiveness of the national championship on the international stage. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing official data from the CIES study (see [the publication's article](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/upl-vershini-talant-dinamo-ocholiv-reyting-1787817232.html)). The ranking covers the best young forwards in world football playing outside the top-5 European championships, and it is precisely in this category that Ukrainian clubs delivered an outstanding result, overtaking players from other leagues. ### Matvey Ponomarenko: the path from debut to the top of the ranking The high analyst valuation is the result of the forward's impressive performances on both the domestic and international stage. Ponomarenko made his debut for Dynamo's first team at the end of 2023 and has since firmly established himself in the starting lineup. In total, he has played 44 matches for the club, scoring 21 goals and providing one assist. At the end of the previous season, the striker was named the top scorer of the UPL, which became the key factor in the rise of his market value. On the international stage, the forward has also made his mark: on 26 March 2026, Matvey put on the shirt of the Ukraine national team for the first time in a World Cup 2026 qualifying playoff match against Sweden. In that same game he also scored his first goal for the national team, confirming his status as one of the country's most promising young attacking players. ### Shakhtar dominates the top-3: Meirelles and Elias Second place in the ranking was taken by Lucas Meirelles, who moved to Donetsk's Shakhtar in the summer of 2025. The striker has already played 31 matches for the "miners," with 12 goals and two assists to his name. Rounding out the top three was Kauã Elias, who joined Shakhtar in the same year: since then the Brazilian has played 49 matches, scoring 15 goals and making eight assists in the Donbas club's shirt. ### What this means for Ukrainian football The fact that the first three places in this prestigious world ranking were taken by footballers from a single national championship underscores the systematic growth of Ukrainian football. The UPL is increasingly serving not only as a domestic market but also as a platform where young talents build up international value and attract the attention of European clubs. For Dynamo and Shakhtar, this is an additional argument in favour of their status as the region's main exporters of young attacking players. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [UPL at the top: Dynamo's talent leads the ranking of Europe's young forwards](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/upl-vershini-talant-dinamo-ocholiv-reyting-1787817232.html) - Подтверждает 1-е место Пономаренко, оценку 26,8 млн евро и состав топ-3 из игроков УПЛ по данным CIES. - [Ponomarenko overtakes Shakhtar players: ranking of the most expensive forwards under 21 outside the top-5 leagues](https://www.ua-football.com/ukrainian/high/1787813706-ponomarenko-oboshel-igrokov-shahtera-reyting-samyh-dorogih-forvardov-do-21-goda-vne-top-5-lig.html) - Согласуется с позицией Пономаренко на 1-м месте и наличием двух игроков «Шахтера» в топ-3. - [Three UPL players top the ranking of the most expensive forwards under 21 outside Europe's top-5 leagues](https://www.ua-football.com/ukrainian/high/1787765276-tri-igroka-upl-vozglavili-reyting-samyh-dorogih-napadayuschih-do-21-goda-za-predelami-top-5-lig-evropy.html) - Согласуется с позицией Пономаренко на 1-м месте и наличием двух игроков «Шахтера» в топ-3. - [Dynamo and Shakhtar players in the top-3 of the prestigious CIES world ranking](https://sport.ua/news/901240-igroki-dinamo-i-shahtera-v-top-3-prestizhnogo-vsemirnogo-reytinga-cies) - Независимо подтверждает попадание игроков «Динамо» и «Шахтера» в топ-3 рейтинга CIES. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Who became the most expensive young forward outside Europe's top-5 leagues according to CIES? **A:** Matvey Ponomarenko, the striker for Kyiv's Dynamo, whom CIES valued at €26.8 million. ### Q: Who else made the top-3 of the ranking? **A:** Second place was taken by Lucas Meirelles, third by Kauã Elias; both play for Donetsk's Shakhtar. Thus, the entire top-3 was made up of Ukrainian Premier League players. ### Q: What achievements of Ponomarenko influenced his high valuation? **A:** For Dynamo he played 44 matches, scoring 21 goals and providing one assist, becoming the top scorer of the UPL last season; on 26 March 2026 he debuted for the Ukraine national team and scored his first goal in the match against Sweden.