Ukrainian center‑back Illia Zabarnyi ranked among world's most expensive defenders
Illia Zabarnyi (photo: Getty Images)
Analysts from the International Centre for Sports Studies have included Illia Zabarnyi in the list of the ten most valuable centre-backs in the world, according to the CIES Football Observatory.
Top 10 most valuable centre-backs in the world
The 22-year-old Zabarnyi, who plays for England's Bournemouth and the Ukrainian national team, ranked sixth. His estimated transfer value is 67.1 million euros.
The Ukrainian defender outranked several well-known players, including Willian Pacho from Paris Saint-Germain (65.5 million), Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan (63.4 million), Murillo from Nottingham Forest (60.3 million), and Gabriel Magalhães from Arsenal (59.9 million).
Topping the list is 17-year-old Pau Cubarsí, a young talent from Barcelona, whose market value experts estimated at 109.6 million euros. Second place goes to Bayer Leverkusen's defensive anchor Piero Hincapié (88.5 million).
Interestingly, third place is held by Dean Huijsen, who previously played alongside Zabarnyi at Bournemouth and now represents Real Madrid.
Thus, the ranking of the world's most valuable centre-backs looks as follows:
- Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona) – €109.6 million
- Piero Hincapié (Bayer Leverkusen) – €88.5 million
- Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid) – €85 million
- Levi Colwill (Chelsea) – €83.1 million
- William Saliba (Arsenal) – €79 million
- Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth) – €67.1 million
- Willian Pacho (PSG) – €65.5 million
- Alessandro Bastoni (Inter) – €63.4 million
- Murillo (Nottingham Forest) – €60.3 million
- Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) – €59.9 million
What is known about Zabarnyi
The Ukrainian joined Bournemouth in 2023, transferring from Dynamo Kyiv for €22.7 million.
In the 2024/25 season, he played 39 matches for the club across all competitions. As for the Ukrainian national team, Illia regularly starts and remains a key player in the defensive line.
Bournemouth recently rejected an offer from PSG for Zabarnyi, and other clubs are showing interest in him too.
