According to the latest estimates from the renowned transfer market website Transfermarkt, Nguyen Xuan Son is valued at €700,000, becoming the most valuable Vietnamese player in history. Xuan Son also ranks among the top 15 most valuable players in Southeast Asian football.
Transfermarkt’s statistics reveal that Indonesian players occupy the top six spots in the list of the top 15 most valuable players in Southeast Asia. This includes naturalized players such as Mies Hilgers (€9 million, almost 13 times Xuan Son’s value), Kevin Diks (€4.5 million), Jay Idzes (€3 million), Calvin Verdonk (€2.5 million), Marten Paes (€1.8 million), and Thom Haye (€1.5 million). This dominance is understandable given that these players are stars who have been naturalized and are playing in Europe.
The six most valuable players in Southeast Asia are naturalized Indonesian players.
Meanwhile, two Thai players, Supachai Jaided (€1.2 million) and Chanathip Songkrasin (€1 million), occupy the seventh and eighth positions, respectively.
The remaining spots are held by Sandy Walsh (Indonesia, €1 million), Dion Cools (Malaysia, €800,000), Supachoke Sarachat (Thailand, €800,000), Suphanat Mueanta (Thailand, €800,000), Jordi Amat (Indonesia, €750,000), Gerrit Holtmann (Philippines, €700,000), and finally, Nguyen Xuan Son (Vietnam, €700,000).
Notably, many of the players on this top 15 list were absent from the AFF Cup 2024, particularly the naturalized Indonesian stars and Thailand’s Supachai and Chanathip. This is one of the reasons why Indonesia and Thailand couldn’t compete for the championship title with Vietnam.
Of course, transfer value is just one aspect of evaluating the development of football in a region or a national team. In Southeast Asia, for instance, while Indonesia’s total transfer value far surpasses that of Vietnam, this does not directly correlate to a significant gap in the teams’ playing levels.
For Vietnam, aside from Xuan Son, most of the players have relatively modest transfer values. However, the team has proven that they can come together as a cohesive and powerful unit, as evidenced by their convincing AFF Cup championship.
Xuan Son ranks 15th among the most valuable players in Southeast Asian football.
- Mies Hilgers (Indonesia, €9 million)
- Kevin Diks (Indonesia, €4.5 million)
- Jay Idzes (Indonesia, €3 million)
- Calvin Verdonk (Indonesia, €2.5 million)
- Marten Paes (Indonesia, €1.8 million)
- Thom Haye (Indonesia, €1.5 million)
- Supachai Jaided (Thailand, €1.2 million)
- Chanathip Songkrasin (Thailand, €1 million)
- Sandy Walsh (Indonesia, €1 million)
- Dion Cools (Malaysia, €800,000)
- Supachoke Sarachat (Thailand, €800,000)
- Suphanat Mueanta (Thailand, €800,000)
- Jordi Amat (Indonesia, €750,000)
- Gerrit Holtmann (Philippines, €700,000)
- Nguyen Xuan Son (Vietnam, €700,000)
