Boca & River drop
Mateo Retegui has been the big winner of the Liga Profesional intermediary market value update. Recently called up to Italy’s national team by Roberto Mancini, the Tigre striker doubled his market value to €16 million and is now the most valuable player in Argentina ahead of Nicolás de la Cruz, who was downgraded by €2m to €11m.
“In Tigre, Retegui has found the ideal club to develop to his full potential, and it is difficult to not describe him as the best player playing in Argentina,” Area Manager Argentina and South America Scott Christensen said. “Retegui is an intense, powerful, self-sacrificing, and dangerous striker, the callup by Roberto Mancini was not surprising—what was surprising was how quickly he adapted, scoring two goals in his first two games.”
WIth Retegui & Varela: The most valuable players in Argentina
The 23-year-old is still officially on loan from Boca Juniors, but Tigre have an option to acquire 50% of the player’s economic rights. Retegui has been heavily linked with a move to Europe (Milan, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, and Eintracht Frankfurt are interested), and there is very little doubt that Tigre will trigger that option.
River Plate star De La Cruz, CA Colon’s Facundo Farías (-€2m to €6m), and Boca striker Jan Hurtado (-€2m to €2m) are the most downgraded players in the Argentine top division. “De la Cruz was the most valuable player after Julián Álvarez and Enzo Fernández left for Europe in July 2022 but then struggled with injuries ahead of the World Cup and could never establish a rhythm that would allow him to get to his top form,” Christensen said. “Also, in the last few years, there have. Been rumors about a transfer to Europe—those rumors have gone cold, and at 25, he is no longer considered a talent.
Boca Juniors and River Plate are the most downgraded clubs
In fact, the two giants of Argentine football, Boca Juniors and River Plate, were the most downgraded clubs. Boca are the current champion but poor performances by many players in 2023 means that the squad value has been reduced by €6.2m to now €80m. Among the players downgraded are the already mentioned Hurtado, who has not played a single minute since his return to the club, Luis Vázquez (-€1.5m to €2.5m), Sebastián Villa (-€1m to €5m) and Juan Ramírez (-0.8m to €2.2m).
At River Plate, the already mentioned De la Cruz, Esequiel Barco (-€1m to €4m), Paulo Díaz (-€1m to €4.5m), and Agustín Palavecino (-€1m to €4m) are the main reasons for a €3.9m deficit that leads to a new squad value of €93.8m. Despite all that, the Millonarios remain the club with the most valuable squad in the league with a €15m gap, especially as Lucas Beltrán managed to double his market value to €6m. One year ago, River had a squad value of €118m, and in 2021 the figure was at €163m. Whether River can reverse the trend depends on the next generation of talents.
One big talent to watch in Argentina is 17-year-old Gianluca Prestianni from Vélez Sarsfield (+€2m to €5m). “He is one of the most promising players in Argentina,” Christensen said. “Prestianni is making his first steps with Vélez and the Argentine U17 squad—despite limited minutes, his talent is obvious.”
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).
Homepage