Football

The price has risen 35 times in a year and a half! There is a new leader in the ranking of the most expensive football players in Russia

Published

4 weeks ago

December 17, 2025

Thomas

The price has risen 35 times in a year and a half! There is a new leader in the ranking of the most expensive football players in Russia

Alexey Batrakov / Photo: © FC Lokomotiv

The two most promising Russian players have increased in value again.

In December, the Transfermarkt portal traditionally recalculates the market value of players in various leagues, including the RPL. After a fresh update of prices, the top two lines among Russians are occupied by two 20-year-old midfielders – railway worker Alexey Batrakov and army player Matvey Kislyak.

Golovin is now only the third most valuable

For several years, the top line of the ranking of the most expensive Russian players was held by Alexander Golovin, whose peak price reached 30 million euros. For this amount he was bought by Monaco in 2018. Over the past year, the 29-year-old midfielder has managed to drop his price by 12 million and let two of his national team teammates go ahead. The drop in Golovin’s price is primarily explained by his age – as the age of 30 approaches, the price decreases for the vast majority of football players around the world.

Alexander Golovin / Photo: © Francesco Scaccianoce / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Also over the year, the value of Matvey Safonov has noticeably decreased – from 22 million to 15 million. This trend has another explanation – too long a stay in the PSG reserves. But another Russian goalkeeper, who recently played with Safonov in the same club, on the contrary, has risen in price significantly over the same period. Stanislav Agkatsev has increased in price from December 2024 from 3.5 to 10 million and became one of nine Russian players in the “10+ million” price category.

The most expensive Russian players (according to Transfermarkt)

1. Alexey Batrakov (Lokomotiv) – €25 million

2. Matvey Kislyak (CSKA) – €20 million

3. Alexander Golovin (Monaco) – €18 million

4-5. Matvey Safonov (PSG) – €15 million

4-5. Konstantin Tyukavin (Dynamo) – €15 million

6. Maxim Glushenkov (“Zenit”) – €14 million

7-9. Stanislav Agkatsev (Krasnodar) – €10 million

7-9. Sergei Pinyaev (Lokomotiv) – €10 million

7-9. Ivan Oblyakov (CSKA) – €10 million

If we take the RPL separately, then here too Batrakov is at the top, sharing first place with Eduard Spertsyan. Over the past six months, the price for the leader of Krasnodar has been in a static position. It can be assumed that within the framework of the Russian championship it has already reached its peak.

Eduard Spertsyan / Photo: © FC Krasnodar

Zenit has the largest representation in the ranking of the most expensive football players. The St. Petersburgers remain the leaders of the league in terms of the total cost of the roster (€174.9 million), Spartak is in second place (€131.5 million), and Krasnodar (€125.7 million) closes the top three. Three more Moscow clubs have approximately the same level of composition, based on its price: Lokomotiv – 111.9 million, CSKA – 102.7 million, Dynamo – 102.1. Rubin, which is seventh on this list, is already significantly behind the leaders (49.6 million).

The most expensive RPL players:

1-2. Alexey Batrakov (Lokomotiv) – €25 million

1-2. Eduard Spertsyan (Krasnodar) – €25 million

3. Luis Enrique (Zenit) – €24 million

4. Matvey Kislyak (CSKA) – €20 million

5-6. Zhedson (Spartak) – €18 million

5-6. Gerson (Zenit) – €18 million

7-9. Konstantin Tyukavin (Dynamo) – €15 million

7-9. Wendel (Zenit) – €15 million

7-9. Pedro (Zenit) – €15 million

10-12. Ezequiel Barco (Spartak) – €14 million

10-12. Maxim Glushenkov (Zenit) – €14 million

10-12. Manfred Ugalde (Spartak) – €14 million

Who has enough money for Kislyak and Batrakov?

Players whose prices have increased by at least two million over the past few months deserve special mention. This indicator is an important indicator of the progress of football players. A total of eight players fell into this category. Kislyak has risen in price more than the others in absolute terms – by four million euros. The increase in the price of the army guy is especially impressive if we take the period over the last year and a half. During this time, its value increased 40 times.

Matvey Kislyak / Photo: © Dmitry Chelyapin / Match TV

How Kislyak rose in price in a year and a half:

June-2024: €0.5 million

September-2024: €0.7 million

December-2024: €1.2 million

March-2025: €4 million

June-2025: €8 million

September-2025: €16 million

December-2025: €20 million

In second place in terms of cost increase are Zenit player Pedro and another army player, Kirill Glebov, whose price has increased by three million. The price of Petrakov, as well as Glushenkov, Agkatsev, Batchi and Diego Costa, went up by two million. Batrakov’s growth dynamics are no less impressive than Kislyak’s. Just a year and a half ago it did not exceed a million euros and has since increased 35 times.

Photo: © Dmitry Chelyapin / Match TV

How did Batrakov rise in price in a year and a half?

June-2024: €0.7 million
September-2024: €5 million
December-2024: €8 million
March-2025: €9 million
June-2025: €12 million
September-2025: €23 million
December-2025: €25 million

The rapid increase in the prices of the two most promising Russians provokes questions about their near future. Many European clubs are closely following Batrakov, and the names of some of them have already appeared in the press – Barcelona, Man City, Inter and others. But the path from getting on the shortlist to a specific proposal may turn out to be too long. There are few clubs in Europe willing to shell out serious money for players without experience in big championships. Over the past few years, only one transaction of this level has been carried out on the RPL route – a top club, when PSG paid Krasnodar 20 million for Safonov. Problems with transfers of funds to Russia can also become a significant obstacle to a future transfer.

The desire of some fans to see the same Batrakov or Kislyak in the surroundings of the top leagues is quite understandable, and in terms of their potential, both 20-year-old guys seem capable of truly setting things on fire in Europe. On the other hand, with their departure, the RPL will lose some of its most prominent representatives. Therefore, while there is an opportunity to enjoy their play in Russia, we must take advantage of it.

Watch live broadcasts of MIR RPL matches on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

Source: Sportbox

Thomas

Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.

Football

Michael Carrick becomes head coach of Manchester United

Published

9 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Jon

Michael Carrick becomes head coach of Manchester United

English Michael Carrick appointed head coach of Manchester United. This was reported by the Mancunian press service.

The agreement is valid until the end of the current season.

On January 5, the Portuguese resigned as head coach of Manchester United. Reuben Amorim. In the previous two matches the interim manager was the Scotsman Darren Fletcher. Under him the team drew with Burnley (2:2) in the English championship match and was eliminated from the FA Cup, losing to Brighton (1:2).

Carrick is 44 years old. He previously served twice as Manchester United’s interim head coach, in 2018 after leaving Jose Mourinho and in 2021 after his resignation Ole Gunnar Solskjaerwhere the specialist worked. From 2022 to 2025, Carrick was head coach of Middlesbrough.

As a Manchester United player, Carrick won the English championship five times, winning the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup.

After 21 rounds, Manchester United has scored 32 points and is in 7th place in the English championship table. In the next match on January 17, the team will host Manchester City.

Source: Soccer Ru

Jon

I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.

Football

Barinov called the decision to leave Lokomotiv the most difficult in his life

Published

10 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Jon

Barinov called the decision to leave Lokomotiv the most difficult in his life

Footballer of the Russian national team Dmitry Barinov he called the decision to leave Lokomotiv Moscow the most difficult of his life. He wrote about it on social networks.

On Tuesday CSKA announced the transfer of Barinov from Lokomotiv, the term of the contract expires until the end of the 2028/29 season.

“I will say without a doubt that this is the most difficult decision of my life,” Barinov noted. — I came to Lokomotiv at the age of 15, now I’m 29. During this time we won the championship, won cups and a super cup. I say a huge thank you to everyone who was there for me; to every coach and to all teammates, to the team and club staff, to everyone who has been on my path and in my life and, of course, the main and most important thing is thanks to the fans.”

“Already in December I informed the coaching staff and management of my decision and I understand that the negativity around me would affect the team in the second part of the season. This is not what I want to leave behind. In no case do I want to speak badly in this message about the previous management or other processes, nor mention the details of the ‘negotiations’. I would just like to wish the new management good luck, they have a long way to go,” he added.

Barinov graduated from Lokomotiv, for whose main team he played 274 matches in various tournaments, scoring 13 goals and 27 assists. As part of the club, the footballer won the Russian Cup three times (2017, 2019, 2021) and the championship once (2018) and the national Super Cup (2019).

Source: Soccer Ru

Jon

I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.

Football

The match between Hamburg and Bayer was postponed due to weather conditions

Published

10 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Jon

The match between Hamburg and Bayer was postponed due to weather conditions

The 17th round match of the German football championship between Hamburg and Bayer has been postponed due to weather conditions. This was reported by the Hamburg press service.

The meeting was supposed to take place on Tuesday and start at 10.30 pm Moscow time.

“Work to remove snow and ice in and around the stadium has been going on around the clock since the middle of last week. Even after yesterday’s icy conditions, several companies ensured safe access and egress, as well as the removal of snow and ice from the roof supports and edges so that the match could take place. Due to the strong thaw, melt water accumulated under the snow on the roof membrane in several places inside the stadium, not being able to drain and creating significant concentrated loads, the design engineer called in to assess the situation considered this a safety hazard,” wrote the Hamburg press. service said in a statement.

A new date for the match will then be set.

Bayer scored 29 points and is in 5th place in the championship standings. Hamburg is in 13th place with 16 points.

Source: Soccer Ru

Jon

I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.