By Yakubu Salisu
Premier League leaders Chelsea signed Diego Costa for almost half of his real value while Barcelona overpaid for Luis Suarez, a study by a foot balling research group has estimated.
The Football Observatory, based within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) in Neuchatel, Switzerland, specializes in the statistical analysis of football.
The group uses an exclusive algorithm ? taking into account values such as length of contract, age, position, goals, shots and minutes ? to calculate the current value of nearly 1500 players from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga or Ligue 1 who have transferred in the last five years.
The CIES Football Observatory analysed the players who featured in the 2014 Goal Transfer List and revealed that Chelsea were the big winners ? signing Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas for well under their current value.
The Blues paid Atletico Madrid a ?44 million transfer fee for Costa, but his real value today is ?84m.
Meanwhile, Barcelona were the big losers, paying Liverpool ?81m for Luis Suarez, who is only worth ?48m, also recouping less than they should have done for Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez.
Chelsea dispensed with ?37m for Fabregas, yet his current value is actually ?62m. So far this season, Costa and Fabregas have been outstanding. The former has scored 12 goals in 13 Premier League games, while the latter already has 11 assists ? more than any other player.
