Lionel Messi: The most-expensive athlete in the world is valued at $260 million

With the transfer window now open in many of the world's top soccer leagues, the CIES Football Observatory has released their semi-annual list of the most-valuable football players in the world.

Lionel Messi of Barcelona in Spain's La Liga tops the list with a staggering transfer value of $262 million and nobody else is even close.

Here's the whole list:

Lionel Messi, Barcelona (Spain) — $262 million.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid (Spain) — $158 million.

Eden Hazard, Chelsea (England) — $118 million.

Diego Costa, Chelsea (England) — $100 million.

Paul Pogba, Juventus (Italy) — $86 million.

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City (England) — $77 million.

Raheem Sterling, Liverpool (England) — $75 million.

Francesc Fabregas, Chelsea (England) — $74 million.

Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal (England) — $73 million.

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid (Spain) — $71 million.