In recent years, football player transfers have reached significant figures, inflating values with each transfer window. To calculate the updated prices of these past legends and champions from the 90s and 2000s, Betfair has introduced an Interactive Online Calculator that adjusts the values of each major transfer in world football, allowing fans to check any transfer value themselves.
In the Brazilian market alone in 2024, according to data from the CBF, football transfers reached astronomical levels: over 2 billion reais were spent during the entire season. Meanwhile, data from the FIFA International Transfer Snapshot shows that the total amount spent globally in 2024, across the January and June transfer windows, was US$7.91 billion.
Betfair analyzed the numbers, adjusting how much great players like Rivaldo and Ronaldo Nazário would be worth in today's market based on inflation over the last 30 years. In addition to the betting company's ambassadors, the Betfair Calculator also reveals the current price of other historical stars of Brazilian and world football.
On July 8, 1996, Palmeiras sold Rivaldo to Deportivo La Coruña in Spain for R$11 million (US$ 1.8m). Adjusted for inflation over the past 29 years, the transfer would now be worth around R$56 million (US$ 9.4m), according to the Betfair Calculator.
Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid marked a new era of globalization in football. At the time, the recently crowned World Player of the Year was sold for R$120 million (US$ 20.3m) in 2009. Today, the Portuguese star would be worth over R$512 million (US$ 86.5m).
According to Rosiane Siqueira, Senior Public Relations Manager and Spokesperson for Betfair, the calculator recreates ideas of how these past players would be valued in today's football: "This tool invites fans to relive their favorite players, sparking memories and fueling curiosity about what these transfers would be worth today. Would my idol fit into my favorite team or a European club today? It brings the evolution of the sport to life in an interactive and nostalgic way, and even impressively when we look at these numbers."
"However, the Betfair Value Calculator isn't just about the numbers—it's a study of the history of world football and a fun topic for fan discussions. We discovered that CR7 would cost the equivalent of 106 Lamborghinis! It's incredible to imagine how icons like Rivaldo, Ronaldo, and Cristiano Ronaldo played at their peak and to see how they would be valued in today's world of billion-dollar transfers," explains the executive.
How much would Betfair's ambassadors be worth today?
Rivaldo and Ronaldo were above-average players in the world football scene: both were elected FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or, claiming numerous titles, including the 2002 World Cup. With Betfair's interactive calculator, it's possible to calculate how much their transfers would be worth today.
In 1996, Rivaldo left Palmeiras for Spain in a deal with Deportivo La Coruña. At the time, the Betfair ambassador was sold for R$11,125,400 (US$ 1.9m). Adjusted for January 2025, the transfer value of the five-time world champion would be at least R$56,095,176.97 (US$ 9.65m).
Rivaldo's transfer today could pay for the purchase of the most expensive apartment in Brazil, located in Rio de Janeiro's Leblon neighborhood, valued at around R$50 million (US$ 8.4m).
In 1997, already crowned World Player of the Year, Ronaldo 'Fenômeno' was transferred from Barcelona to Inter Milan for US$32 million, the most expensive transfer in football history at the time, equivalent to R$59,769,600 (US$ 10.1m) back then.
Using the Betfair Calculator, it was discovered that the transfer today would amount to R$281,832,238.82 (US$ 47.65m). With the value of the Betfair ambassador's transfer, it would be possible to buy 60 Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and the amount could cover one-seventh of the budget for the movie The Avengers.
In 2025, Neymar's transfer would surpass the billion mark
Neymar's transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 moved R$813 million (US$ 137.5m), making it the most expensive sale in world football history. But would it still be the most expensive transfer if adjusted for inflation? What would its updated value be?
With updated data, the amount of Neymar's sale from Barcelona to the French club would reach the billion mark: exactly R$1.117.750.201 (US$ 189m) in 2025.
"We know that the amount of money invested in football worldwide has grown enormously in recent decades, and it's natural that the values practiced today stand out in sports headlines. But we've developed a formula to also compare the values of iconic players from our memories, translated into a calculator that gives fans the opportunity to check these figures and explore interesting comparisons of what these values really mean in practice," analyzes Siqueira.
On Betfair's interactive calculator, fans can compare players from different eras of football, adjusting for inflation each year. The page also includes a quiz on the biggest transfers in football history, as well as the main national and international transfers from the 90s to the present.
Global football economy
The global football economy continues to grow, with transfer fees in men's professional football reaching $7.91 billion spent on transfers in 2024 (FIFA International Transfer Snapshot, 2024). Betfair's updated player value calculator highlights this evolution, comparing the value of historical transfers like Ronaldo Nazário's R$59 million (US$ 10m) sale in 1997 to an impressive R$281 million (US$47.5m) today, reflecting the sport's multibillion-dollar financial transformation.
The deal between Inter Milan and Barcelona was the most expensive transfer in the world until 1997. Comparing it to today's spending in football, Endrick's transfer from Palmeiras to Real Madrid cost R$407 million (US$68.8m) for the young Brazilian national team player, R$126 million (US$21.3m) more than Ronaldo's inflation-adjusted value.
In the 2024 Brazilian transfer market, the updated value of Ronaldo's transfer would still be higher than the biggest signings in national football. If we add the two most expensive signings in history, both from 2024—Thiago Almada's move from Atlanta United (USA) to Botafogo for R$137.4 million (US$23.2m) and Paulinho's transfer from Atlético Mineiro to Palmeiras for R$115 million (US$19.4m)—they still wouldn't match the value of the Phenomenon.
Rosiane Siqueira comments that not only inflation affects the current value of past players, but there is also a sports premium that makes a difference in transactions: "The tool considers inflation, but the modern football market takes into account many additional factors, such as broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals, and image rights commercialization. Ronaldo, at his peak today, would likely be worth much more than just inflation adjustments."
Compared to Neymar's move from Santos to Barcelona in 2013, the value of R$553 million (US$93.5m), adjusted for today, would be around R$585 million (US$99m), exactly double what Betfair's ambassador would be worth today.
The Betfair Calculator offers fans an interactive, nostalgic, and surprising analysis, illustrating how the football market has evolved into its current "record-breaking era," where transfer fees are driven by much more than just inflation.
To access the content with historical transfers, simply click on https://promotions.betfair.bet.br/valor-da-grandeza-quiz. Fans and journalists curious about calculating other transfers can also input the numbers for immediate value calculations.
Source: GMB
