REVEALED: When the first £1 billion footballer will be signed
The first £1 billion footballer is likely to be signed before 2050, according to new research.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar (L) and Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappe react at the end of the French L1 football match Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs Angers (SCO), on August 25, 2018 at the Parc des Princes in Paris. / AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE
The findings reveal that the player will be purchased around 2048 for a club in France.
After seeing an astronomical rise in transfer fees over the past 30 years, JD Sports, who conducted the study, used existing transfer data from Transfermarkt and ran the top transfer from each of Europe’s top six leagues since 1980 through a data prediction tool to get their results.
Ligue 1 being the first division to sign such a player can be attributed mainly to Paris Saint Germain, who have spent over £1.2 billion on transfers since their takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, including the current world record of £198 million.
The Parisian’s acquisitions of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for £198 million and £121 million respectively catapulted the French league to the forefront of the ten-figure footballer race.
Meanwhile, in terms of the English leagues, the study predicts that a billion-pound player will be brought into in the UK in 2085.
Italy were the surprise package of the study, with Serie A expected to be the second league to break the ten-figure mark for a player.
An Italian team are expected to do so around 2055, seven years ahead of France and thirty years ahead of England.
Spain, despite having two powerhouses of European football in Barcelona and Real Madrid who are responsible for six out of the top 10 football transfers of all time, are only due to see a billion-pound player in La Liga in 2072.
The country most aligned with England’s predicted date was Germany, who are expected to see, based on current transfer trends, a £1 billion footballer in the Bundesliga come 2086.
Despite some of these dates appearing far flung into the future, they appear relatively recent compared to Eredivisie.
The Dutch league is predicted to break the billion-pound mark in 2161, given that their current record transfer is only £14 million, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
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