France, Uruguay, Brazil and Belgium, which kick off the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals tonight, offer the prospect of some tasty matches with teams ranked, respectively, 7,14, 2 and 3, taking the field*.
Expect at least one commentator to mention the sky-high values of the stars on display. For those who follow these things, France is the most valuable team at $1.2 billion-plus, based on the latest transfer prices. This number would be skewed by Kylian Mbappe, the French teenager of Cameroonian-Algerian origin whose explosive pace humbled mighty Argentina in the round of 16. Last year, he signed on with Paris St Germain for Euro 180 million.
That astonishing figure made him the most expensive teenager and the second-most expensive player in Europe. His histrionic club team-mate, Brazil’s Neymar, who Mbappe may or may not meet in the semi-finals, leads the table at Euro 222 million. Till Real Madrid denied the rumours Thursday, the 19-year-old striker was said to be in the running to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar in wantaway mode following arguments over his pay package.
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