Portugal market values: Gonçalo Ramos continues to impress - Héctor Bellerín downgraded

World Cup star Gonçalo Ramos is one of the big winners of the Liga Portugal update in which 58 players saw their market value adjusted. Ramos and his Benfica teammate António Silva saw their market values increase by €10 million. Benfica, in fact, continue their dominance over the Portuguese first division and are eight points ahead of second-placed Porto. As a result, Benfica’s squad value is back over the €300m mark, despite selling Enzo Fernández to Chelsea in January.

Regarding player rankings, Ramos is now the second most valuable player in Portugal behind Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa whose market value has been upgraded from €35m to €45m. Only three goalkeepers have a higher market value than the Switzerland-born Portuguese national team goalkeeper. “He has played a consistent season,” Area Manager Portugal Marcel de Almeida said. “Furthermore, in November, Costa renewed what was already a long-term contract for a higher salary and a bigger exit clause, which is now between €60m and €75m. I believe that Porto will receive an outstanding offer for their academy product, and they would never allow him to leave for anything below €50m. I think the Premier League would be a good fit for him.” 

Costa was not the only Porto player to see his market value upgraded. Canadian men’s national team player Stephen Eustaquio continues to impress for Porto, and his market value is up by 25% from €8m to now €10m. “There isn’t much we can add,” De Almeida said when asked about the Canadian. “He continues to be an important starter for Porto and recently scored twice. Altogether we felt that he deserved a market value increase to €10m, especially when you compare him to other players.”

Market Value

S. Eustaquio Central Midfield

€10.00m

Benfica talents Ramos and Silva up by €10m each

By the time of writing, Ramos was second in goalscoring behind teammate João Mário and has been linked with a transfer to Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and Manchester United. “Ramos has been tremendous this season,” Portugal expert De Almeida said. “He has been great domestically, in the Champions League, and at the World Cup, and I do not doubt that he will receive several offers next summer. His goalscoring instinct aside, Ramos covers plenty of ground and is the first player in Benfica’s high press. Benfica has reportedly turned down a few offers, including one from West Ham. At this point, it is almost certain that he will be Benfica’s next top departure.”

Market Value

G. Ramos Centre-Forward

€40.00m

Silva, with a market value of €25m, is now one of the ten most valuable players in Portugal. Regarding defenders in the age group 20 or younger, only compatriot Nuno Mendes (PSG, €60m) has a higher market value than Silva. 

Market Value

A. Silva Centre-Back

€25.00m

Despite having an overall disappointing season, Sporting Clube also had some bright spots in the squad, first and foremost Manuel Ugarte. In 2021, the Uruguayan national team player was signed for just €6.5m from FC Famalicão and has now increased his market value to €25m. Ugarte has been linked with Newcastle United and PSG, and only Pedro Gonçalves (€30m) has a higher market value than the 21-year-old.

Market Value

M. Ugarte Defensive Midfield

€25.00m

Another talent on the up at Sporting is Ousmane Diomande. The 19-year-old was signed for €7.5m from Midtjylland (Diomande was on loan at second-division side CD Mafra), and the Ivorian center-back is considered an investment in the future. Diomande has already made four appearances for Sporting, and his market value has been upgraded by 900% to now €4m. 

Market Value

O. Diomande Centre-Back

€4.00m

Sporting: Héctor Bellerín and Francisco Trincão among the biggest losers 

The two biggest losers of the update, however, also play for Sporting: Héctor Bellerín and Francisco Trincão. Bellerín dropped by €7m to now €8m, and Trincão saw his market value collapse by €5m to now €15m. Sporting may have triggered the €7m buy-option in the Trincão loan deal (including the loan fee, the transfer was €10m), but the winger’s market value did not reflect the price paid or the recent performances. Bellerín was also signed from Barcelona for just €1m. The former Arsenal star joined Barça last summer but, after a muscle injury, struggled for playing time and was quickly discarded this winter. 

Market Value

H. Bellerín Right-Back

€8.00m

Two other players that saw their market value drop play for Benfica. Gonçalo Guedes dropped from €32m to €28m and Julian Draxler from €12m to €8m. “You have to say that Draxler’s loan from PSG to Benfica was a flop,” De Almeida said. “He never managed to fit into the team and is now injured until the end of the season. You can only hope that he can regain his fitness by the summer and then restarts his career elsewhere.”

How Transfermarkt market values work

The Transfermarkt market values are calculated, taking into account various pricing models. A major factor is the Transfermarkt community, whose members discuss and evaluate player market values in detail. In general, the Transfermarkt market values are not to be equated with transfer fees. 

The goal is not to predict a price but an expected value of a player in a free market. Both individual transfer modalities and situational conditions are relevant in determining market values. Examples of this are listed below. Transfermarkt does not use an algorithm (you can find the detailed market value definition here).