Portugal's most valuable starting lineup

Portugal have a range of valuable players across the continent, but here we construct what is officially the most valuable XI.

To do so, the current market values according to TransferMarkt have been used to decipher the most valuable player in each position.

Here are the results:

GK: Anthony Lopes (Lyon) - £22.5M

Rui Patricio may be Portugal’s most capped goalkeeper in history and the undisputed number one for the national team, but it is Anthony Lopes who is deemed the most valuable goalkeeper Portugal currently have.

The Lyon shot-stopper is currently valued at £22.5million - a total of £4.5M more than Patricio. That is likely down to the age difference between the two players, with Anthony Lopes, 28, three years younger than the Wolves goalkeeper.

Those two are far and away the most valuable goalkeepers Portugal have though, Braga’s Tiago Sa and Porto’s Diogo Costa both coming in at number 3, each valued at just £3.6M.

RB: Joao Cancelo (Juventus) - £49.5M

Everybody knows the sheer depth Portugal have in the right back department, a trio of top-quality options, followed by a handful of very capable candidates behind them.

However, it is Joao Cancelo that comes in as the most valuable active Portuguese right back, worth close to 50 million pounds according to Transfermarkt.

Barcelona’s Nelson Semedo is not too far behind though, deemed to be worth £36million, while Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira comes in 3rd, valued at £22.5million.

CB: Ruben Dias (Benfica) - £28.8M

Unsurprisingly, Ruben Dias is considered Portugal’s most valuable centreback, worth in the eyes of TransferMarkt £28.8M. That’s a significant decrease compared to his release clause of 66 million euros, but still emphasises that the 22-year old is highly rated.

He doesn’t have a great deal of competition at centreback though in terms of value. After all, his two closest rivals for centreback are Pepe and Jose Fonte, who are 36 and 35 respectively. Because of their age, their valuation is much lower despite their respective abilities and reputations, with Pepe valued at just £900,000, while Fonte is valued at double that, £1,800,000.

CB: Ferro (Benfica) - £13.5M

As a result, the second most valuable centreback Portugal currently have is Ruben Dias’ centreback partner at Benfica, Ferro.

Despite having never played for Portugal’s senior team before, 22-year old Ferro is already deemed to have the second highest worth of all Portuguese centrebacks, with a value of £13.5million. It’s quite a clear and perhaps concerning indication of Portugal’s current centreback situation.

It becomes even more stark when you see that the 3rd most valuable Portuguese centreback is Pedro Mendes - valued at just £5.4million.

LB: Mario Rui (Napoli) - £10.8M

According to Transfermarkt, Raphael Guerreiro isn’t considered to be a left back, but rather is registered as a left midfielder. As such, officially, Rui should be in the team rather than Guerreiro. That made the decision as to who to put in as the left back somewhat difficult; After all, Guerreiro is Portugal’s starting left back, and is valued higher than Rui, but he isn’t officially, according to Transfermarkt, a left back.

In the end, we decided to choose Mario Rui as, even though we all know Guerreiro is more than capable of playing as a left back, it then makes it difficult to decide where to draw the line - could we put Danilo Pereira in at centreback, for example, having seen him feature there for his country occasionally? It’s difficult to say. As such, we chose Rui, even though Guerreiro is valued higher (£22.5million).

It makes sense that Guerreiro is valued higher than Rui, what with him being younger, playing for an equally strong team, and ahead of Rui in the Portuguese pecking order. Whether you agree with our decision not to include him in this hypothetical team, though, is up to you!

CDM: Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - £40.5M

The 22-year old Wolves midfielder is considered the 2nd most valuable midfielder Portugal currently have, coming in ahead of Porto’s Danilo Pereira in 3rd, who is valued at £27M, and Everton’s Andre Gomes, valued at £25.2M, meaning that he makes this all-star lineup.

And it comes as little surprise. With age on his side and Neves performing to a very high standard regularly for Wolverhampton Wanderers, he is already a Portugal international, and is also a huge prospect for the future. Expect his value to only increase from here.

CDM: Danilo Pereira (FC Porto) - £27M

As just pointed out, Danilo is Portugal’s third most valuable midfielder, although is well behind Ruben Neves, deemed to be worth 13 million pounds less than his Wolves counterpart.

Though that is to be expected, considering Danilo is 5 years older than Neves, while he is also ‘only’ playing in Portugal’s top flight, as opposed to the English Premier League. In any case, Danilo makes it into the side, ahead of the likes of Andre Gomes, William Carvalho, Gedson Fernandes, Joao Mario, Renato Sanches and Florentino Luis.

RW: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) - £90M

No surprise to see Bernardo Silva in the team; the Manchester City winger is, in fact, deemed Portugal’s most valuable player of them all, according to Transfermarkt.

He is now ahead of Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo in value, as well as Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix. And who could begrudge him of that? The 24-year old has had a stunning season in England under the stewardship of Guardiola, and he is now well and truly one of the top 10 players in world football.

The fact that Bernardo Silva is in the team, though, means that Joao Felix isn’t, as he is, according to Transfermarkt, also a right winger; since we can only choose one right winger, Felix therefore cannot be chosen, being valued at £61M. We could, of course, put him in as a second striker, having seen him play there regularly for Benfica, but as we are following strict rules, we’ve decided to omit him altogether.

CAM: Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP) - £49.5m

Another name in the team that everyone will have anticipated. Sporting’s attacking midfielder is a household name at this point thanks to his stunning exploits for the Lisbon club last campaign.

As a result, he has been relentlessly linked with a move to the English Premier League this summer - more specifically, Manchester United. And that move is still very much on the cards.

His endeavours last season may have earned him a prestigious big-money move - and Premier League fans would be fortunate to get to watch him play week in, week out.

LW: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - £81M

The second Juventus player on this list, and of course it’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite now being 34 years of age, the living legend is still valued at over 80 million pounds, which is, coincidentally, therefore a higher valuation than Real Madrid actually bought him for back in 2009.

It’s a stunning indication of just how surreal this guy is, with his performances still making him one of the top two players in all of world football despite his age.

ST: Andre Silva (AC Milan) - £19.8M

It seems a little odd to have Andre Silva in this team, particularly when you look at some of the names that have had to be omitted. Joao Felix, for example, is valued at £63M. Goncalo Guedes is £36M. Diogo Jota is £31.5M. They are all players that have played in that striker role before, but because they are all deemed to be wingers by Transfermarkt, we have decided to leave them out.

It means that Andre Silva is considered Portugal’s most valuable striker, the AC Milan man likely to leave Italy this summer in search of more regular football. his destination, however, is far less certain.

His closest rival is Rafael Leao, valued at £13.5M.