08.04.2020 - 06:00 | Source: Transfermarkt | Reading Time: 4 mins

Corona market value update

MLS clubs lose over €132m - Atlanta United and Los Angeles FC see the biggest drop

Transfermarkt has reacted to the coronavirus crisis with a worldwide market value downgrade for the majority of players—together, the 26 Major League Soccer clubs have lost €132.95 million in player market value. Players, who were born in 1998 or later, were downgraded by 10%, all others – down to a minimum value of €300,000—by 20%. On average, MLS teams saw 18% of their player market value wiped off the board.

“The stock market prices collapsed, many clubs could be threatened by insolvency, and transfer plans have come to a standstill for most clubs because of the many uncertainties," Transfermarkt founder Matthias Seidel said when asked about the market value cut. "At the moment, it is difficult to imagine that transfer fees will continue to rise like in the previous years in the foreseeable future."

In MLS, the biggest losers were Atlanta United. The Five Stripes used to have the most valuable squad in the league but see their value drop by €10.625 million, from €59.575 million to now €48.95 million. The biggest losers among the players? Josef Martínez, the striker saw his market value drop by 20% from €17.5 million to now €14 million.

As a result, Atlanta United drop to second place in the overall market value club ranking. They are surpassed by Los Angeles FC.

LAFC saw their overall market value drop from €58.3 million to now €49.3 million. On average, LAFC players saw their market value drop by 15.61%. The club's biggest loser was Carlos Vela, who saw his market value drop from €15 million to now €12 million. 22-year-old Diego Rossi, however, only experienced a market value drop of 8.33%, down by €1 million from €12 million to now €11 million, which helped alleviate the overall drop of the club.

Age structure plays a role in how clubs are affected by the market value downgrade. Two out of Inter Miami CF's top four most valuable players are 20 or younger. Matías Pellegrini saw his market value drop from €7.5 million to now €6.7 million. Julián Carranza is down from €6 million to now €5.4 million. In comparison, Rodolfo Pizarro falls into the older age category and, as a result, has seen his market value drop by 20% from €10 million to now €8 million.

Canadian Premier League less impacted

As the global cut only applies to players with market values of more than €300,000, for now, it means that other North American leagues are less affected.

The Canadian Premier League, for example, only saw their overall market value go down by €375,000 and only three clubs—York9 FC (-€150,000), Valour FC (-€150,000) and Atlético Ottawa (-€75,000) were affected. The same is the case in the USL Championship where clubs saw an overall loss of €3.125 million, a 2.89% loss. In the USL League One the drop is minimal, just 0.39% down.

In the smaller leagues, a general downgrade would have led to many players dropping to the same value, as the downgrades would have been much more detailed. A new evaluation of the leagues will happen at an appropriate point in time individually.

Community and football industry agree: Significant impact on transfers

Transfermarkt gathered opinions on the impact of the coronavirus crisis from the community, as well as the football industry in advance. In a survey on the market value boards, over 70% of voters stated that they expect a decrease in market values as a consequence – almost half of the participants think that it will amount to 20 to 30%. In a second survey organized by Transfermark—with more than 300 people form the football industry from over 50 countries—over 70% stated that they expect a significant impact on the transfer business.

Market values were gathered in Euros to compare the overall impact with other leagues; dollar values will be available by clicking through the individual statistic pages.

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