Eye-watering $919.3m gulf facing Socceroos
Australia’s gargantuan task against the South American heavyweights in the Round of 16 is obvious when the value of the two squads are laid bare.
Not only does Argentina’s squad value dwarf that of Australia by an incredible $919.3 million, several of Argentina’s players are worth more than the 26 Socceroos combined.
Despite no longer being the Argentine player with the highest market value – that honour belongs to striker Lautaro Martinez (market value of $116 million) – Lionel Messi is still his team’s talisman.
The 35-year-old, who is in his fifth World Cup, has a market value of $76.5 million, well in excess of the Socceroos’ total squad value of $59.3 million.
See the following slides for information on the values of each of the 32 squads at the FIFA World Cup.