RANKED: Here's how much every team at the 2018 World Cup is worth

• Around £9 billion ($US12 billion) worth of players will be on show at this year’s World Cup in Russia.
• The world’s top three players – Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – are worth more than the nine least valuable teams combined.
• Scroll down to see how much each squad is worth, from lowest to highest.

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In football, cash is king, and while the World Cup is a welcome break for most of us from the ludicrous transfer fees and ever rising price of replica shirts, there’s still an awful lot of money involved.

But which team at this summer’s World Cup, which starts on Thursday in Moscow, is worth the most money in the market?

Using data from football data site Transfermarkt, analysts at Dutch bank ING have calculated that around £9 billion ($US12 billion) will be on show at the tournament, with Spain being the most valuable team – it’s worth more than £900 million ($US1.2 billion).

Big European and South American sides dominate the upper echelons of player worth, while minnows like Panama and Saudi Arabia dwell at the bottom end of the charts.

In fact, the world’s top three players – Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – are worth more than the nine least valuable teams combined, ING calculated.

“Some say the football market is highly inflated – and it’s certainly astonishing to see the significant increase in team values from the last World Cup,” Ian Bright, a senior economist at ING said. “But whether you truly get value for money is a question that only fans can answer.”

Check out how much every squad at the World Cup is worth below.

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32. Panama

Squad value: £8.7 million ($US11.7 million)

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31. Saudi Arabia

Squad value: £15.1 million ($US20.2 million)

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30. Peru

Squad value: £32.6 million ($US43.6 million)

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29. Costa Rica

Squad value: £37.02 million ($US49.5 million)

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28. Iran

Squad value: £37.4 million ($US50 million)

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27. Australia

Squad value: £43.6 million ($US58.4 million)

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26. Tunisia

Squad value: £46.2 million ($US61.8 million)

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25. Japan

Squad value: £61.5 million ($US82.3 million)

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24. Iceland

Squad value: £65.1 million ($US87.1 million)

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23. South Korea

Squad value: £74.2 million ($US96.9 million)

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22. Sweden

Squad value: £103.4 million ($US138.4 million)

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21. Russia

Squad value: £104.6 million ($US140 million)

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20. Morocco

Squad value: £105.5 million ($US141.2 million)

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19. Nigeria

Squad value: £115.1 million ($US154 million)

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18. Mexico

Squad value: £129.4 million ($US173.2 million)

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17. Egypt

Squad value: £172.9 million ($US231.4 million)

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16. Switzerland

Squad value: £187.1 million ($US250.4 million)

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15. Serbia

Squad value: £211.2 million ($US282.6 million)

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14. Denmark

Squad value: £223.6 million ($US299.2 million)

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13. Colombia

Squad value: £223.8 million ($US299.5 million)

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12. Poland

Squad value: £230.3 million ($US308.2 million)

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11. Senegal

Squad value: £247.8 million ($US331.6 million)

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10. Croatia

Squad value: £302.5 million ($US405 million)

Most valuable player: Ivan Rakitic – £44 million ($US59 million)

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9. Uruguay

Squad value: £323.4 million ($US432.8 million)

Most valuable player: Luis Suarez – £61.5 million ($US82.3 million)

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8. Portugal

Squad value: £411.04 million ($US550 million)

Most valuable player: Cristiano Ronaldo – £87.9 million ($US117.7 million)

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7. Argentina

Squad value: £614.2 million ($US822 million)

Most valuable player: Lionel Messi – £158.2 million ($US211.7 million)

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6. Belgium

Squad value: £660.9 million ($US884.6 million)

Most valuable player: Kevin De Bruyne – £131.9 million ($US176.5 million)

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5. England

Squad value: £769.1 million ($US1.02 billion)

Most valuable player: Harry Kane – £131.9 million ($US176.7 million)

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4. Germany

Squad value: £771.8 million ($US1.03 billion)

Most valuable player: Toni Kroos – £70.3 million ($US94.1 billion)

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3. Brazil

Squad value: £808.01 million ($US1.08 billion)

Most valuable player: Neymar – £158.2 million ($US212 million)

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2. France

Squad value: £907.7 million ($US1.215 billion)

Most valuable player: Kylian Mbappe – £105.5 million ($US141 million)

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1. Spain

Squad value: £910.8 million ($US1.21 billion)

Most valuable player: Sergio Busquets – £70.3 million ($US94 million)

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