Spain vs. Belgium squad comparison: Market values, most expensive players

Spain face Belgium in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals on Friday July 10th, with La Roja favourites to progress to the last four.

Indeed, Spain are priced at 8/13 (1.62) to win, while Belgium are 9/2 (5.50) outsiders to book their place in the semi-finals.

However, while Spain are the clear favourites, Belgium possess plenty of experience and individual quality in their squad, making this one of the most intriguing quarter-final ties.

Nonetheless, it is interesting to see how both squads compare in terms of market values and their most expensive players, which we have explored in this article.

Spain vs. Belgium squad value comparison

Spain's total squad value is €1.22bn (£1.04bn), making La Roja one of the most valuable squads at the World Cup.

In contrast, Belgium's total squad value is €547.50m (£467m), meaning Spain's squad is valued at more than twice as much as their quarter-final opponents.

However, the Red Devils still boast a number of players competing at the highest level of European football, as well as several experienced internationals who have been part of the national team setup for many years.

Spain vs. Belgium most valuable players

Spain's three most valuable players are Lamine Yamal (€200m/£170m), Pedri (€150m/£128m) and Pau Cubarsi (€80m/£68m).

The valuations highlight the extraordinary young talent available to Spain, with all three players still having many of their peak years ahead of them.

Belgium's most valuable player is Jeremy Doku (€75m/£64m), followed by Amadou Onana (€45m/£38m), while Senne Lammens and Matias Fernandez-Pardo are both valued at €35m (£29.5m).

However, Lammens and Fernandez-Pardo have either not been utilised or have barely featured at the tournament, with the former serving as understudy to first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Spain vs. Belgium least valuable players

Spain's least valuable squad player is Borja Iglesias (€2.8m/£2.4m), followed by Aymeric Laporte (€8m/£6.8m), while Alejandro Grimaldo and Marcos Llorente are both valued at €20m (£17m).

The valuations of Iglesias and Laporte partly reflect their age, while the figures attached to Grimaldo and Llorente could arguably be considered low given their experience and continued importance at the highest level.

Belgium's three least valuable players are Axel Witsel (€1.2m/£1.02m), Thomas Meunier (€1.5m/£1.3m) and Brandon Mechele (€2.8m/£2.4m).

Witsel and Meunier are both now without a club, while Mechele plays in the Belgian top flight and is one of only a small number of players in the squad based outside Europe's ‘top five' leagues.

Spain vs. Belgium: Transfer records

Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi became the joint-second most expensive Spanish player of all time – and the most expensive member of the current World Cup squad – when they signed him from Real Sociedad for €70m (£60m) in the summer of 2025.

The 2024/25 season had shown that Arsenal needed a deeper-lying midfielder to truly unleash Declan Rice, and Mikel Arteta opted to sign his fellow Basque, Zubimendi, after tracking him for several years.

Belgium's transfer record history is dominated by Romelu Lukaku, who remarkably features three times among the five most expensive Belgian transfers of all time.

The striker ranks fifth after joining Inter Milan from Manchester United for €74m (£63m) in 2019, third following his €84.7m (£72m) move from Everton to Manchester United in 2017, and second courtesy of his €113m (£96m) return to Chelsea from Inter in 2021.

Only the now-retired Eden Hazard ranks above Lukaku, following his move from Chelsea to Real Madrid.

*all values from Transfermarkt