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The World's Most Valuable Wonderkids When GTA 5 Was Released – And What They're Worth Now
REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito

Nov 12, 2026, 3:51 PM GMT

George is currently a sports journalist working for multiple websites, including GiveMeSport. Having enjoyed two wonderful years at National World covering Liverpool and Everton every day, he now has comendable experience writing and covering football at the highest level - both in-person and remotely. 

Prior to that, he achieved a 1st Class Sports Journalism MA degree from Liverpool John Moores University whilst simultaneously earning the coveted NCTJ Gold Standard qualification.

Working the likes of The Sporting News, SportBible and 90min helped forge a strong reputation while work across other sports such as Archery, Badminton, Cricket, MMA and Boxing have helped to develop an all-round expertise of being a multimedia sports journalist, as well as displaying a strong versatility in this industry.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 is released on November 19, 2026, more than 13 years after GTA 5 hit shelves on September 17, 2013. A lot has changed in football over that time, and the market values of the game's brightest young talents show it as clearly as anything.

When GTA 5 was released, Transfermarkt's 10 most valuable wonderkids were worth a combined €208m. Here is how that list looked, and where those players stand as GTA 6 arrives.

Most Valuable Wonderkids When GTA 5 Was Released

Julian Draxler Schalke 2013
Action Images / Jed Leicester Livepic

#

Player

Age

Club

Market value

1

Julian Draxler

19

Schalke

€30m

2=

Marquinhos

19

Paris Saint-Germain

€25m

2=

Raphael Varane

20

Real Madrid

€25m

4

Romelu Lukaku

20

Everton (loan from Chelsea)

€24m

5

Matija Nastasić

20

Manchester City

€21m

6=

Geoffrey Kondogbia

20

Monaco

€18m

6=

Paul Pogba

20

Juventus

€18m

8

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

20

Arsenal

€17m

9=

Mateo Kovačić

19

Inter

€15m

9=

Gerard Deulofeu

19

Everton (loan from Barcelona)

€15m

  • Market values as of 17 September 2013, via Transfermarkt.

Julian Draxler led the way at €30m, three days short of his 20th birthday and already a regular in Schalke's first team and was primed for long-term success. Marquinhos and Raphael Varane were joint-second at €25m, with Marquinhos fresh from a summer switch from Roma to Paris Saint-Germain, whilst the Frenchman was already featuring heavily for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Everton had two of the top 10 on loan. Romelu Lukaku arrived from Chelsea on deadline day, while Gerard Deulofeu had joined from Barcelona earlier that summer.

The biggest name on the list at the time was Paul Pogba, whose value rose to €25m a week after GTA 5's release, the first sign of the climb that would take him back to Manchester United for a then world-record fee in 2016.

What is their value now?

Liverpool's Jeremy Jacquet in action with Fenerbahce's Romelu Lukaku 2026
REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya

Player

Current club

2013 value

Current value

Julian Draxler

Al-Ahli (Qatar)

€30m

€3m

Marquinhos

Paris Saint-Germain

€25m

€28m

Raphael Varane

Retired

€25m

–

Romelu Lukaku

Fenerbahçe

€24m

€6m

Matija Nastasić

Without club

€21m

€500k

Geoffrey Kondogbia

Marseille

€18m

€2.5m

Paul Pogba

Without club

€18m

€2m

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Celtic

€17m

€1m

Mateo Kovačić

Manchester City

€15m

€10m

Gerard Deulofeu

Without club

€15m

–

  • Current market values via Transfermarkt.

Marquinhos is the only player on the list worth more now than when GTA 5 came out. The Brazilian is still at PSG, the club he joined in 2013, and is valued at €28m.

The other nine have fallen sharply, due to a number of factors. Together, the 10 players are now worth around €53m, roughly a quarter of their combined value in 2013. Most peaked well above their wonderkid valuations along the way. Lukaku and Pogba both reached €100m at Man United, while Varane hit €80m at Real Madrid before retiring.

Kovačić holds the next-highest value at €10m, having won the Champions League with both Madrid and Chelsea before joining Manchester City.

Most Valuable Wonderkids When GTA 6 is Released

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal
REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

#

Player

Age

Club

Market value

1

Lamine Yamal

19

Barcelona

€220m

2

Yan Diomande

19

Real Madrid

€120m

3

Pau Cubarsi

19

Barcelona

€100m

4

Ayyoub Bouaddi

19

Manchester City

€90m

5

Estevao

19

Chelsea

€80m

6

Luka Vuskovic

19

Brighton

€65m

7

Lennart Karl

19

Bayern Munich

€60m

8=

Max Dowman

16

Arsenal

€50m

8=

Rio Ngumoha

18

Liverpool

€50m

8=

Ibrahim Mbaye

18

Aston Villa

€15m

By way of contrast, the most valuable wonderkid in the world today as GTA 6 is coming out is Barcelona and Spain magician Lamine Yamal, one of the best footballers in the world right now, who is valued at €220 million. Yamal is followed by Real Madrid's Yan Diomande, who is valued a full €100 million less than his Clasico rival.

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