MLS market values: Messi remains at the top - Bouanga and Hernández on the up
With the MLS Cup Playoffs concluded, Transfermarkt has updated or confirmed the market values of 865 Major League Soccer players, and Lionel Messi remains at the very top. After receiving the Ballon d’Or and his significant financial impact on Inter Miami CF off the pitch and the Leagues Cup trophy on the pitch, Transfermarkt has opted to leave Messi unchanged at €35 million. As a result, Messi not only remains the most valuable player in MLS but also the most valuable player aged 34 or older in the world.
Indeed, there has been very little change among the top players in MLS. Still second behind Messi is his teammate at the Argentine national team Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), who remains unchanged at €25m. New in third is Orlando City star winger Facundo Torres. The Uruguayan remains at €14m but jumped up one position after Austin FC’s Sebastián Driussi saw his market value decrease from €15m to €12m. Driussi, in fact, dropped by two spots thanks to a newcomer in the top 5: Cucho Hernández.
The Columbus Crew striker saw his market value increase from €10m to €13m. The Colombian striker scored 16 goals and seven assists in 27 MLS regular season games and then was a key player for his club in the playoffs, which concluded with the Crew lifting their third championship in history by beating titleholders LAFC (2-1). Hernández scored the opener in the MLS Cup final and finished the playoffs as the joint-top goalscorer with five goals and one assist. “In Cucho, Columbus have signed a top player,” Transfermarkt Data Administrator North America Dominic Becker said about the Colombian striker signed for €9.55m from Watford in July 2022. “He isn’t just a consistent goalscorer but also has the second-most assists of any player on his team. That combination made him one of the main reasons for Columbus’ successful title challenge.”
MLS values: Bouanga on the up, Acosta back to his personal best
Although he would ultimately lose out on winning back-to-back MLS Cups, LAFC star Denis Bouanga also managed five goals in the playoffs, continuing a run that saw him win the regular season Golden Boot with 20 goals in 31 games.“41 goal involvements in 40 games across the 2023 season speak for themselves,” Becker said. “He was the non-plus ultra in the league. Whether it was in the Leagues Cup, the regular season, or the playoffs, Bouanga was always a reliable goalscorer, and he has the quality to decide games on his own.” As a result, Bouanga saw his market value increase by 25% to now €10m.
Bouanga wasn’t the only regular-season star to miss out on club silverware in the playoffs. Luciano Acosta, in fact, was voted MLS MVP by the league at the end of the regular season after the Argentine scored 17 goals and 10 assists. Leading FC Cincinnati to the club’s first-ever Supporters Shield trophy, which is awarded to the club finishing first in the regular season, Acosta was indeed one of the best players in MLS in 2023, and, as a result, his market value has increased by 33% to now €8m the highest point in the 29-year-old’s career.
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Also on the up are several young US men’s national team prospects, including New England Revolution’s Noel Buck (+€700,000 to €2.5m), Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna (+€1m to €4.5m), and Chicago Fire’s Brian Gutiérrez (+€500,000 to €4m). Those three players are the future and highlight that MLS is increasingly banking on younger players.
That, however, doesn’t mean that MLS isn’t a final destination for some older stars; see Messi. But while Messi has been a cash cow for Inter Miami, other older star signings weren’t quite that successful. The best example is perhaps Toronto FC’s Italian star Lorenzo Insigne. Heralded as perhaps the biggest star in MLS history when he arrived on a free transfer from Napoli, Insigne managed just 10 goals and six assists in 31 league games. Insigne and Toronto is a relationship that has been dissatisfying for both sides,” Becker said.“Insigne never was a major factor. Quite the opposite. “This season, he often struggled with lower body injuries and never got going. When he played, he was a shadow of his former self.” As a result, his market value has collapsed to now €6m.
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How Transfermarkt market values work
The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees.
The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).
