The Most Valuable Teams in India’s Super League

Source: Statista

India’s best soccer team will be crowned at the Super League final on Saturday and for both contestants, spending good money on players has paid off. Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan FC have the chance to win the ISL trophy for this season. According to Transfermarkt.co.in, they are the second and fourth most valuable teams in the league with combined player values of $6.4 million and $5.6 million, respectively.

The most valuable player on Mumbai’s roster is Brit Adam Le Fondre. Mohun Bagan’s MVP Roy Krishna helped kick the team from Kolkata into the final on Tuesday when the Indo-Fijian assisted both goals in the 2:1 second leg semi-final success against NorthEast United.

Like in every professional soccer league, investment in international players is abound in the Super League. While British striker Gary Hooper from the Kerala Blasters was identified as the most valuable Super League player by Transfermarkt at a value of $914,000, the most valuable Indian player, goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu of Bengaluru FC, was only valued at $314,000.Mumbai and Kolkata employ more than a quarter of foreign players, as do the Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC and third-placed NorthEast United. FC Goa, which placed fourth this season, made do with fewer foreign players. The team employed around 19 percent.

Kings XI Punjab are Biggest IPL Spender in 2019

Source: Statista

In the 2019 season of The Indian Premier League the Mumbai Indians emerged victorious. While there are many aspects that can influence a team’s performance up until the finals, how much money is spent on players is a factor considered crucial for success.

But this is not always true, as a new report shows. As far as spending on new players goes, Kings XI Punjab were on top of the league last season with 325 million rupees (US$4.6 million) in 2019 auction spending, according to consultancy firm Duff and Phelps. The Mumbai Indians spent “only” INR76 million (US$1.1 million) and still were the more successful team. The Chennai Super Kings, who finished second, spent even less. Their expenditure was INR52 million (US$734,000).

Bowlers Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakravarthy fetched the highest sums for an individual player at the 2019 auction. The Rajasthan Royals nabbed Unadkat for INR8.4 crore/84 million (US$1.2 million), while Chakravarthy was bought by Kings XI Punjab for the same price.