Neymar edges out Messi to be named world's most valuable player

The CIES Football Observatory has released its latest rankings of the most valuable players in Europe's top five leagues.

CIES releases a list every January, taking into account factors such as age, postition, contract status, performance and international status to come to a valuation.

Samba star Neymar comes out on top of this year's list with a value of £188m, just ahead of Messi on £178.5m.

Spurs and England striker Harry Kane comes in third at £172m following a stunning 2017 that saw him finish as the top scorer in the calendar year.

The Premier League dominates the list, with five of the top 10 players and 13 of the top 20 plying their trade in England.

There were also some notable absences from the upper echelons of the list, with Cristiano Ronaldo down in 49th place with a valuation of £71m and Robert Lewandowski narrowly missing out on the top 20, coming in 21st with £94m.

Here are the 20 most valuable footballers in the World according to the CIES Football Observatory:

1. Neymar (PSG) -  £188m

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - £178.5m

3. Harry Kane (Tottenham) - £172m

4. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - £170m

5. Paulo Dybala (Juventus) - £154m

6. Dele Alli (Tottenham) - £151.25m

7. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) - £148m

8. Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) - £145.5m

9. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) - £132m

10. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - £130m

11. Leroy Sane (Manchester City) - £124m

12. Mo Salah (Liverpool) - £124m

13. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - £122m

14. Luis Suarez (Barcelona) - £113.6m

15. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) - £112m

16. Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona) - £108.6m

17. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) - £108.25m

18. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - £105.6m

19. Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) - £99.8m

20. Alvaro Morata (Chelsea) - £95.3m