When someone is told that they’re worth their weight in gold, it’s about as good a compliment as they can get.
However, when it comes to elite footballers, for instance Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka, they’re often worth many more times their weight in gold.
With the international break under way, the Gunners now won’t be in action until 15 September, and England don’t play until this Saturday.
So, with a lull in proceedings, it’s time to take stock of things and ask the questions that really matter, such as “how many more times is Saka more valuable than his weight in gold
Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka worth over 41 times his weight in gold
Back in 2020, The Sun sung Saka’s praises as he was establishing himself as a superstar for Arsenal. Indeed, they said he had ‘proved to be worth his weight in gold for the Gunners’.
The Arsenal star has also made his fair share of Golden Boy lists over the years and is likely to be in the running for Golden Boots for club and country in years to come.
Now, it’s time to look at just how many times Saka is actually worth his weight in gold.
So let’s begin with the Arsenal star’s reported weight. According to TNT Sports’ website, this is 65kg (10.2 stone / 143.3 lbs).
Next, let’s look at the current price of gold. As per the Royal Mint website at 5pm on Wednesday, this is £1,900 per troy ounce (31.1g), which works out at £61.09 per gram or £61,090 per kilo.
Therefore, Saka’s weight, in gold, would be worth £3,970,850. Which in football terms, isn’t a very high amount for an elite player these days.
Now, considering Saka has come through the ranks at Arsenal and has never been transferred as a professional, it makes it tricky to pinpoint a valuation.
In this case, we’ll use the CIES Football Observatory valuation, based on their latest transfer fee post as of 28 May 2024. This values Saka at €195.2million, or £164.6million.
Divide 164,600,000 by 3,970,850 and you get 41.452. This means Saka is worth around 41.5 times his weight in gold.
When is Bukayo Saka next set to play?
Saka is in Lee Carsley’s England squad for their Nations League encounters with the Republic of Ireland and Finland, scheduled for Saturday 7 September (5pm) and Tuesday 10 September (7:45pm).
Arsenal then return to Premier League action on Sunday 15 September, when they’ll be taking on North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at N17.
