Victor Boniface has been named the most valuable Super Eagles player in the CIES Observatory rankings, with fellow Nigerians Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen noticeably absent from the list of the world’s top 100 best-valued players.
Boniface, who piles his trade with Bayer Leverkusen, secured the 89th spot with a market value of €65.3 million, making him the sole Nigerian representative in this prestigious ranking.
Ademola Lookman, despite an impressive season at Atlanta, where he scored 12 goals and six assists in 22 appearances, did not make the cut. This exclusion comes shortly after Lookman was crowned the 2024 African Player of the Year, underscoring the puzzling omission.
Similarly, Victor Osimhen, who has been the fine form of Galatasaray, scoring 10 goals in 12 Super Lig matches, also failed to earn a spot on the list.
The rankings highlighted a limited presence of African players in the global elite, with only three representatives form the continent. Boniface ranked third among the African players, behind Senegal’s Nicolas Jackson, valued at €105.4 million, and Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus, whose value stands at €66.2 million.
The top positions in the overall rankings are dominated by Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham (€251 million), Erling Haaland (€221 million), and Vinicius Junior (€206 million), reflecting the highly competitive nature of player valuations driven by market trends.
Boniface’s inclusion emphasizes his rising stature and potential, but the absence of Lookman and Osimhen raises questions about the metrics used for determining market value, especially given their remarkable performances this season.
As the football season unfolds, all eyes will be on these Nigerian stars to see if they can further elevate their performances and secure higher valuations on future rankings. Their journey serves as both a challenge and an opportunity to bridge the gap in global recognition of Nigerian footballers.
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