The total market value of the 24 teams participating in Africa Cup of Nations is about 2.3 billion euros with Egypt ranking third, according to the international website TransferMarket, which specializes in the market values and statistics of football players.
The countdown to the start of the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt has started, with the tournament kicking off June 21 and extending to July 19.
Strong teams, with many professional African stars who play for European teams, will take part in the championship.
The market value of those stars rose after their outstanding performances with European clubs during the previous season. Those players include Sadio Mane, Pierre Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah, and others.
Senegal came first on the list thanks to the fact that the team, known as the Terranga Lions, has professional stars playing for the most powerful European clubs, led by Liverpool’s top scorer Sadio Mane, who recently won the Champions League title and shared the English League top scorer title with Mohamed Salah.
Mane’s market value was estimated at 386 million euros.
Egypt’s team, which won the Africa Cup seven times, ranked third on the list with Salah.
Salah’s market value was estimated at 177 million euros.
Algeria ranked fourth with Manchester City star Riyad Mehrez, who recently won the UEFA Champions League title. Mahrez’s market value was estimated at 176 million euros.
Morocco, which won the title in 1976, ranked fifth with Medhi Benatia and Ajax star Hakim Ziyech. Benatia’s market value was estimated at 158 million euros.
The tournament is scheduled to run from June 21 to July 19.
Egypt will be organizing the Africa Cup of Nations for the fifth time. It hosted the tournament in 1959, 1974, 1986 and 2006.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
