Top ten World Cup stars with highest transfer fees as England hero Jude Bellingham’s cost skyrockets to £175MILLION

JUDE BELLINGHAM was already the World Cup’s most valuable player even before his heroic performance as England thrashed Iran.

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder, 19, ran the show on Monday.

He grabbed his first international goal with a perfect run into the box and header.

And Bellingham dominated the game with his wide passing range, confidence on the ball and tackling ability.

His stock no doubt rose as a result of the display – and will continue to do so if he can help take the Three Lions deep into the tournament.

But how much is the youngster worth and who does he pip at the top of the rankings?

The number crunchers at the CIES Football Observatory did their latest valuations at the beginning of November – and worked out who the top players in Qatar 2022 are, with Erling Haaland the most notable absentee.

1 Jude Bellingham (England) – £175m

At 19 years old, Bellingham is already playing like an experienced international on the global stage.

It is no wonder Dortmund will demand more than £100m when the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and in particular Real Madrid come knocking to try and secure a transfer.

2 Phil Foden (England) – £172m

Just behind Bellingham is his fellow England midfielder Foden.

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The 22-year-old City ace already has 208 senior appearances for club and country and four Premier League winner’s medals.

3 Kylian Mbappe (France) – £160m

The first teenager since Pele to score in the World Cup final, Mbappe proved he was born for the big occasion.

Four years on, he continues to go from strength to strength and his mega-money PSG contract shows just how valuable he is.

4 Pedri (Spain) – £137m

The first of three Spanish midfielders in the top seven, incredibly, is 19-year-old Pedri.

He came through Las Palmas’ academy but was snapped up by Barcelona and was crowned the Golden Boy and Jopa Trophy winner in 2021.

5 Gavi (Spain) – £134m

The Barcelona kid, 18, joined La Masia aged 11 and is a first-team regular for club and country – becoming Spain’s youngest senior goalscorer in June.

6 Jamal Musiala (Germany) – £131m

Born in Stuttgart, raised in South London and part of the Chelsea academy, and now a Bayern Munich starter at just 19.

Musiala played for England and Germany at youth level before sticking with his birth country – and will have high hopes of being the talisman for many years ahead.

7 Rodri (Spain) – £103m

The third Spaniard may surprise a few with the Manchester City ace.

Now 26, the ex-Atletico Madrid man has developed into one of the best holding midfielders in world football.

8 Ruben Dias (Portugal) – £102m

Rodri’s Etihad pal Dias is the most valuable defender at the World Cup.

The Portugal star, 25, is the success to Pepe on the international stage and Vincent Kompany at club level – and is delivering on a consistent basis.

9= Bukayo Saka (England) – £95m

Two goals on his World Cup debut earned Saka the man of the match award.

The Arsenal winger, 21, has made giant strides under Mikel Arteta and Gareth Southgate to become a devastating threat as a right-winger, his best position.

9= Josko Gvardiol (Croatia) – £95m

The 20-year-old centre-back joined up with RB Leipzig in 2021 after being made Croatia’s most expensive defender and teenager.

Chelsea reportedly had a £77m bid rejected in the summer for the World Cup’s No2 centre-half – pipping the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Marquinhos and Ronald Araujo.