The 26 squad from Uruguay is valued at €449.70 million, about half of what the squad from Portugal is worth (€937 million). However, the South American team has the player with the highest market value – Federico Valverde, 100 million euros.
The 24-year-old midfielder who plays for Real Madrid (this season he made a total of 20 appearances for the Whites, with eight goals and four assists), surpassing Portugal’s most valuable player, AC Milan striker Rafael Leão, whose quoted by Transfermarkt is 85 million euros.
The list of the most valuable in Uruguay includes Darwin Núñez, who switched from Benfica to Liverpool at the beginning of the season, and whose market value is 70 million euros, Ronald Araújo, central defender of Barcelona (60 million euros), the also central José María Giménez, from At. Madrid (40M€) and midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, from Tottenham (40M). Bernardo Silva (80M), Bruno Fernandes, Rúben Dias (75M) and João Cancelo (70M) complete the Top-5 of the most valuable Portuguese
In the Uruguayan national team, two players also work for Sporting, Sebastián Coates and Manuel Ugarte, worth 6 and 18 million euros respectively. The historic Edinson Cavani (35 years old) and Luis Suárez (35) currently have little market value due to their age: five and four million euros respectively.
Portugal and Uruguay have met only three times in their entire history – at the last World Cup and in two friendlies. In Russia 2018, the South Americans won the round of 16 game 2-1 with a brace from Cavani (Portugal’s goal was from Pepe).
Until this duel on Russian soil, Portugal and Uruguay had met only twice, both in closed encounters, the first in 1966, in preparation for the two teams at that year’s World Cup, where a José Torres hat-trick was guaranteed to the national team the 3-0 win, at the National Stadium, in Oeiras.
The other game took place six years later, but in Brazil, at the Maracanã stadium, in Rio de Janeiro. As part of the commemorations of the 150th anniversary of Brazil’s independence, the only edition of the Independence Cup, in 1972, brought together 15 national teams on Canarinho soil, including the team of quinas and celeste. The match for the competition’s first group stage ended in a 1–1 draw, after Piero Lattuada advanced the Uruguayans and Jaime Graça restored the tie. Portugal would play in the final and lose to hosts Brazil.
Source: DN
