How much do we bet that John Charles would be worth today?
John Charles is one of the best footballers of his era and perhaps the finest Welsh player of all-time. He scored goals, he organised defences, and he did so with a grace that made him a hero to countless fans.
He began his career in 1949 and ended it in 1972, retiring long before football's first million-pound player. So, how much would he be worth in the current market?
We've given it plenty of thought and come up with a figure. Want to know what it is? You'll have to read on to find out.
John Charles was a supreme goalscorer First things first. John Charles was a man who scored goals, and lots of them. He's 10th on the list of Juventus' all-time top scorers (level with Michel Platini) and 2nd on Leeds Utd's. And goalscorers are always worth a lot of money, regardless of the era they play in.Â
Goals are the most important currency in football. Games are swung by small margins and it's a brave (or unfortunate) manager that chooses to set their team up without a recognised net buster.Â
Whatever league Charles played in today, we bet he'd have been pretty high on the list of predicted goalscorers at a football betting sites like Betfair Casino. You can read the review to get a feel for the sort of odds he'd be competing against.
John Charles was a brilliant defender John Charles wasn't only a wonderful goalscorer, he was also an incredible central defender. So much so that scores of commentators consider him the finest all-round footballer ever to come from the British Isles.
"Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles." These aren't our words. They're the expressed belief of Sir Alex Ferguson, a man who knows a thing or two about winning trophies. And while Fergie would adore Charles' gifts he'd also be willing to pay a hefty price for his defensive prowess.
There's currently a dearth of great centre-backs who aren't named Virgil van Dijk. In the current climate, we'd be willing to bet that every single club side on the planet would be able to find a place for Charles in the heart of their defence.
He was a record signing then & he would be now Let's talk numbers. John Charles cost Juve a record British fee of £65,000 in 1957. That didn't make him a world record signing, but it did put him at the very top end of the scale for fees. It's clear then that he'd be worth a lot of money today.
It's impossible to get an exact match for Charles in today's market because there isn't a player with his combined skillset. The best way to get a feel for his value is to merge the two players closest to his striking and defensive skills – Virgil van Dijk and Erling Braut Håland.
Using Transfermarkt as our guide, van Dijk is worth £72.00m and Håland is valued at £64.80m. Those two figures come to £136.80m. That's enough to make Charles the second-most valuable football player today, behind only the £162.00m rated Kylian Mbappé. So, if a British or Italian club paid his market value he'd be a record signing in either league.
John Charles is one of the greatest British players in history and might be the finest Welsh player ever.
He stared for two of the world's biggest teams and is still remembered as a hero both fans of both clubs.Â
It's really difficult to say with certainty how much he'd be worth today but we're betting that the £136.80m we arrived at would be a pretty fair reflection of his value.
Our suggestion now is that you do a little more reading on the great man. Because if you're impressed with what you've read so far then you'll be astounded when you learn his full story.
page originally posted: Mon, 15 Jun 20 refresh for updates