Matt O‘Riley and Liel Abada, two of Celtic‘s Under–23 players, have been recognised as two of the most valuable players outside of the top five leagues in the world.
The CIES Football Observatory recently released a list of the 100 most valuable players outside of the top five divisions, and both O‘Riley and Abada were on it.
Abada is estimated to have a transfer value of £14.9 million, and O‘Riley is estimated to have a transfer value of £11.4 million. This places them on par with players from clubs such as Red Bull Salzburg, Feyenoord, Burnley, and River Plate.
The highest–valued player on the list was Benfica‘s Goncalo Ramos, with an estimated transfer value of £61.3 million. Overall, Brazil‘s Serie A had the most players on the list, with 18.
This is some excellent recognition for both O‘Riley and Abada, as well as Celtic and Scottish football, to have two of the most valuable Under–23 footballers outside of the world‘s top five leagues.
Both Danish Under–21 cap O‘Riley and Israeli international Abada have become fan favourites during their time with Celtic as they close in on a second successive Premiership title, despite not featuring as much as they would have liked in recent matches.
