France's attacking depth at this summer's World Cup isn't just good. It's worth approximately €855 million — just north of a billion dollars — and it creates a selection headache most international managers would happily trade for their worst crisis.
Kylian Mbappé leads the valuation at €200 million, which is almost unremarkable at this point. What's striking is the quality cascading behind him. Michael Olise at €140 million. Désir Doue at €115 million. Ousmane Dembélé at €100 million. Bradley Barcola at €70 million. Rayan Cherki at €65 million. You could build a top-ten national team with just France's attacking reserves.
Mbappé is the headline, but Cherki is the wildcard
Mbappé needs one more goal to equal Olivier Giroud's all-time France record of 57. That will come. What's more interesting is what happens around him.
Cherki has been genuinely surprising since his €36 million move to Manchester City last summer — a fee that looks increasingly embarrassing for whoever sold him. Pep Guardiola, who spent years working with Messi and Iniesta, has been caught off guard by the 22-year-old's instinctive passing. Cherki scored a fine solo goal against Arsenal in a Premier League title-race clash last weekend. If he replicates that kind of form in North America this summer, his valuation won't stay at €65 million for long. France's opponents will be tracking him from minute one.
Olise's numbers at Bayern are also worth sitting with: 18 goals and 25 assists in 44 games. For a player who only turned 23 this year, that's a profile that shapes entire game plans around him. Deschamps has options at every angle of the final third — pace, hold-up play, creativity, set-piece threat through Thuram and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Who actually starts against Senegal on June 16?
That's genuinely unclear, which is itself a statement about this squad. Dembélé brings Ballon d'Or credibility and directness. Barcola dismantled Chelsea in the Champions League this season. Maghnes Akliouche scored in both legs against PSG in a Champions League playoff for Monaco, including a superb overhead kick last season. Randal Kolo Muani, on loan at Tottenham and well out of form, still commands a €30 million price tag from PSG who haven't given up on him.
The depth also creates legitimate betting complexity. France's top scorer market — normally a straightforward Mbappé question — suddenly has real challengers. Olise's underlying numbers suggest he could be France's most dangerous player after Mbappé on pure output. Cherki's creativity means he'll create as much as he scores. Barcola has the finishing to hit four or five goals in a tournament run without anyone blinking.
- Kylian Mbappé – €200m, needs 1 goal to equal France's all-time record
- Michael Olise – €140m, 18 goals and 25 assists for Bayern this season
- Désir Doué – €115m, 20 years old, three years left at PSG
- Ousmane Dembélé – €100m, Ballon d'Or winner
- Bradley Barcola – €70m, Champions League standout for PSG
- Rayan Cherki – €65m, already turning heads at Manchester City
- Maghnes Akliouche – €50m, Monaco's Champions League playoff scorer
- Marcus Thuram – €50m, in form as Inter close in on Serie A
- Jean-Philippe Mateta – €35m, consistent scorer for Crystal Palace
- Randal Kolo Muani – €30m, on loan at Tottenham, battling for form
Kolo Muani, for his part, carries the weight of 2022 in every appearance. His missed chance at the end of extra time in the World Cup final against Argentina — before France lost on penalties despite a Mbappé hat-trick — remains one of the most agonising near-misses in recent tournament history. Making this squad would be redemption. Getting on the pitch would be something else entirely.
France won't win the World Cup on paper. But on paper, no one else comes close to this.
