Rooney, Sterling and Bellingham - The most valuable Englishmen in each of the last 15 years

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English football has always been at the centre of European football as one of the most passionate nations and now undoubtedly the richest league in the sport. Although the Premier League has always welcomed players from just about every nation on the planet to ply their trade in the top-flight, it has also laid claim to a number or excellent homegrown talents and in recent years a number of England’s best players have even taken to Europe’s other top leagues in search of fame and glory. But which Englishman has been able to lay claim to being the best among his compatriots in previous years? Let’s take a look.

When we flick through the pages of the sport’s history we find that none other than Manchester United centre forward Wayne Rooney was the most valuable Englishman 15 years ago. The Old Trafford talisman laid claim to the title in both 2012 and 2013 with a market value of €65 million - more than twice the next most valuable Englishman in both years. Rooney held the title in 2014, despite his market value dropping to €45m in 2014. However, he was then succeeded by a young talent from Liverpool by the name of Raheem Sterling, who shot to fame in 2015 and saw his market value soar to €50m - allowing him to lay claim to being the most valuable Englishman in 2015 and 2016.

The next four years saw Sterling battle it out with Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, with the North London No.9 claiming the title as England’s most valuable player in 2017 with a market value of €80m and then in 2018 with a market value of €150m. Sterling then regained the title in 2019 when he reached a career high market value of €160m, only to lose the title the following year to a new, young contender on the wing in the form of Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho who shot to contention with a market value of €130m in 2020. Kane’s last podium spot came in 2011 when he was top with a market value of €120m, before another young English star from Dortmund rose to prominence.

Indeed, as we can see from the graph above, the last five years have been dominated by one player: Jude Bellingham. The former Birmingham city academy player shot to fame in 2022, when his market value rose to an impressive €110m ahead of many of Europe’s biggest clubs looking to sign him. As we all know, Bellingham ultimately departed the Bundesliga for Real Madrid for €127m in 2023 and has since seen his market value soar to €180m for three consecutive years, before dipping down to €160m. Despite the €20m drop this year, Bellingham remains England’s most valuable player by some distance and it will take some beating for another Englishman to overtake him in the years to come.