Kim Min-jae and Son Heung-min are the only Asian players competing at the highest level in the world.
On January 1 (KST), soccer statistics company TransferMarkt released a list of the top 100 highest-paid players in the world. They broke down the statistics by country, league, and club.
England is the most expensive country in the world. Of the players in the world’s top 100, the total amount of money spent on English players was a whopping €1.09 billion ($1,588.5 billion).
As a team, Bayern Munich dominated. The Bavarians had 10 players in the top 100 worldwide. Their combined wages were €897 million ($1,307.2 billion). By league, the richest league, the Premier League (PL), dominated.바카라
In a top 100 list of the world’s most valuable players, dominated by European and South American players, Kim Min-jae and Son Heung-min were the pride of Asia. Kim Min-jae, the most valuable Asian player, is valued at €60 million (approximately KRW 85.7 billion). This is a very high figure, tied for 58th in the world.
Son Heung-min, the second most valuable Asian player, is valued at €50 million (approximately KRW 72.8 billion). A player’s market value drops dramatically as they get older, especially after their 30s, so Son Heung-min lost the top spot in Asia to Kim Min-jae in 2023, but he still ranks 79th globally.
On the same day, TransferMarkt also released its list of the top eleven most expensive players in Asia, with three South Korean players – Kim Min-jae, Son Heung-min, and Lee Kang-in – on the list. Japanese players filled seven of the remaining eight spots. The list includes Japan’s number one ransomed player, Kaoru Mitoma, as well as Daichi Kamada and Takehiro Tomiyasu. The final spot was filled by Iranian striker Merdi Taremi.