2026 World Cup: Top 10 highest-valued Serie A stars

Argentina pair Lautaro Martínez and Nico Paz are the highest-valued Serie A stars at the World Cup, while Rafael Leao doesn’t make the top three.

The 2026 World Cup begins on June 11 and, unfortunately, Italy will once again watch the most important football tournament from home.

MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 05: Lautaro Martinez of Inter celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AS Roma at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 05, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Italian football fans can still enjoy Serie A stars in the competition, and Football Italia has listed the ten most valuable players from Italy’s top flight who will be at the World Cup this summer.

The highest-valued is Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, a fresh Serie A title winner with the Nerazzurri and the league’s leading scorer in 2025-26. Lautaro already won the World Cup with Argentina four years ago and is valued at €85m.

COMO, ITALY – APRIL 12: Nico Paz of Como 1907 celebrates after scoring their team’s second goal during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and FC Internazionale at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on April 12, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

This year, Lautaro is joined in the Argentina team by 21-year-old Nico Paz, valued at €80m. Paz spent the last two seasons at Como, but seems destined to return to Real Madrid in the summer.

The third-ranked is Juventus and Turkish star Kenan Yildiz, also 21, who is valued at €75m by Transfermarkt.

According to The Athletic, Arsenal recently enquired about Yildiz’s availability, but the Bianconeri are unwilling to listen to offers for the Turkish star.

Milan star Rafael Leao, a Portuguese winger, ranks fourth.

Top most expensive Serie A stars at the 2026 World Cup

Lautaro Martínez (Inter) 85m

Nico Paz (Como) 80m

Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) 75m

Rafael Leao (Milan) 50m

Manu Koné (Roma) 50m

Marcus Thuram (Inter) 50m

Donyell Malen (Roma) 45m

Ederson (Atalanta) 45m

Christian Pulisic (Milan) 40m

Scott McTominay (Napoli) 40m