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…ranked world’s 13th most expensive team
By: Ebenezer Bajela
Despite finishing second at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast last month, the Super Eagles suffered a massive drop in their squad market value, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The three-time African champions dropped down one step and are now ranked the 13th most valuable international team globally, while retaining their position as the most financially valuable team in Africa.
The Eagles boast players who ply their trade in Europe’s lucrative leagues, making them one of the world’s most valuable teams, with a total value of €345m, which, according to the official exchange rate of the naira on Wednesday, amounts to N555bn.
In December 2023, they were placed 12th with a market value of €465.90m.
The Nigerian squad’s value witnessed a decrease of €121m compared to the squad’s previous value.
The sharp devaluation was largely due to the number of injuries the players suffered in the build-up to the AFCON, forcing erstwhile manager Jose Peseiro to invite some players with little or no market value into the squad for the tournament.
Apart from the reintroduction of Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, Leverkusen midfielder Nathan Tella and Real Sociedad forward, Sadiq Umar, most of the players invited for the friendly games against Ghana and Mali are the bulk of the players that featured at the AFCON.
The latest information by transfermarkt.com does not include AFCON Most Valuable Player, William Troost-Ekong, Bayer Leverkusen sensation, Victor Boniface and Terem Moffi.
Also, the last valuation had Maduka Okoye, who is the only Eagles goalkeeper to hit the million valuation. The Udinese shot stopper has a market value of €2m.
Meanwhile, Africa Player of The Year, Victor Osimhen, who according to transfermarkt has a market value of €110m, is Nigeria’s most expensive player with his value worth almost half of the entire Eagles squad.
In the absence of Boniface, who is worth €40m, Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman, is the team’s second most expensive player with a market value of €30m.
Fulham star, Alex Iwobi, is currently ranked the third most valuable player in the squad with a market value of €28m, and while Samuel Chukwueze and Terem Moffi maintained their €25m valuation, Wilfred Ndidi has seen his massive €60m value drop to €16.
Players like Moses Simon, Calvin Bassey, Ola Aina and Frank Onyeka saw little rise in their market values.
Among all the three goalkeepers included in the squad by transfermarkt, Francis Uzoho has the highest value of €450,000 while Stanley Nwabali and Enyimba’s Ojo Olorunleke, according to the website, are both valued at €250,000 and €100,000 respectively.
Aside Bassey, whose value stands at €16m, no other Eagles defender is worth €10m, with Bright Osayi-Samuel and Ola Aina, the nearest with €8.5m and €8m values respectively. The sextet William Troost-Ekong (€2m), Kenneth Omeruo(€2m), Chidozie Awaziem (€3m), Semi Ajayi (€1.8m), Zaidu Sanusi (€3m), and Bruno Onyemaechi (€3m) are all merely €14.8m combined.
The decrease in the Eagles squad value saw them drop down to 13th place globally, but are still the most valuable team on the continent ahead of Ivory Coast and Morocco.
AFCON champions, Ivory Coast, who were third in Africa in December, are now second on the continent and 18th globally with a value of €315m.
Morocco also experienced a sharp decrease in the squad value, dropping from the previous €350.80m valuation to €294m, it was still enough to see them remain in the top three in Africa and 21st globally.
Senegal remain fourth on the continent with a value of €269m while Algeria (€238m) displaced Ghana to occupy the fifth position.
England cemented their position as the most financially valuable team in the world with a market value of €1.41bn, while France climbed above Portugal to occupy the second position with €1.23bn squad value.