
Axel Witsel
Value picture
Where the market, the likely price and the model estimates sit.
The model rates Axel Witsel's performance-implied value at EUR 0.6M-0.9M, above the estimated acquisition range of EUR 0.4M-1.5M. Its 24-month market value projection is EUR 0.5M-1.2M. Context-adjusted goal contributions are 1.04x the positional average in the league (2533 minutes, league coefficient 0.95). Confidence is medium: no event-level data (xG, progressive actions) is available from the current free source, and injury history is unavailable.
Acquisition note: Contract end date unavailable: range widened by 15% each side.
Bargain Index: not assigned
What drives the score. Not a black box: each component and its level.
Age above 33 (outside validated pool)
| Performance | High | 80.3th pct among MID peers (age-neutral) |
| Age | Unfavorable | 37.5 years |
| Acquisition cost | Favorable | est. €806k vs market €1.2M |
| Expected appreciation | Low | -19% over ~2 years (model) |
| Value gap | Small | weak predictor on its own |
| Development | Low | |
| League translation | Big-five league | league coefficient 0.95 |
| Tactical fit | Not evaluated | Requires event/role data not available from the current free source. |
| Risk | Moderate | |
| Data confidence | Medium |
Bargain Index = percentile (among all evaluated players) of expected 2-year value relative to estimated cost. See methodology and backtests.
Market value history
Market value ≠ transfer fee ≠ acquisition cost.
Profile vs positional peers
Percentiles among 1163 evaluated MID players with 900+ minutes.
Performance (last season, league)
- Minutes
- 2533 (74% of available)
- Goals + assists / 90
- 0.11
- Context-adjusted G+A / 90
- 0.13
- xG, xA, progression
- Data unavailable
- Defensive actions
- Data unavailable
- Performance percentile
- 80 (High)
Adjusted = shrunk toward positional baseline for small samples, corrected for team dominance over opponents, expressed relative to positional peers in the same league.
Context
- League strength
- 0.95 (rank 2)
- Team strength (Elo)
- 1413
- Opponent strength
- 1506
- Possession, role
- Data unavailable
League strength 1.00 = average club of the big-five leagues. Elo includes continental matches.
Potential
- Development
- Low
- Trajectory
- improving
- Breakout probability
- Age > 23
- Resale range (24m)
- €466k – €1.2M
Trajectory drivers: minutes share up 49 pts; changed club; team strength down (-242 Elo); role change CB -> DM.
Historical comparables (8): median 2-year value change -64% (IQR -69% to -36%).
Risk profile
Overall: Moderate
- ▲Age 37: resale value typically declines.
- ⓘContract end date unavailable (or stale in source).
- ⓘInjury history unavailable from current data source.
League translation
What happened to players who moved from this league to the big-five leagues (observed, not a forecast).
Already playing in a big-five league.
Output is relative to positional peers in each league. Movers are a selected group (clubs buy players who fit), so treat this as context, not a guarantee.
Season-by-season (domestic league)
Context-adjusted values are model outputs.
| Season | Club | League | Pos | Apps | Min | Min share | G | A | G+A/90 | Adj. G+A/90 | Opp. Elo | Team Elo | League str. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Girona FC | Laliga | DM | 32 | 2533 | 74% | 1 | 2 | 0.11 | 0.13 | 1506 | 1413 | 0.95 |
| 2024/25 | Atlético de Madrid | Laliga | CB | 14 | 848 | 25% | 0 | 1 | 0.11 | 0.06 | 1481 | 1655 | 0.95 |
| 2023/24 | Atlético de Madrid | Laliga | CB | 35 | 2783 | 81% | 2 | 0 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 1492 | 1667 | 1.00 |
| 2022/23 | Atlético de Madrid | Laliga | CB | 33 | 2254 | 66% | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 1497 | 1656 | 0.98 |
| 2021/22 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | DM | 29 | 1947 | 64% | 2 | 0 | 0.09 | 0.06 | 1466 | 1643 | 1.05 |
| 2020/21 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | DM | 15 | 1130 | 37% | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 1534 | 1703 | 1.06 |
| 2019/20 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | DM | 28 | 2245 | 73% | 4 | 5 | 0.36 | 0.19 | 1508 | 1700 | 1.06 |
| 2018/19 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | DM | 33 | 2873 | 94% | 4 | 1 | 0.16 | 0.12 | 1501 | 1683 | 1.05 |
| 2016/17 | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | Premier Liga | CM | 16 | 1286 | 48% | 1 | 2 | 0.21 | 0.10 | 1416 | 1616 | 0.70 |
| 2015/16 | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | Premier Liga | DM | 29 | 2470 | 91% | 3 | 2 | 0.18 | 0.09 | 1448 | 1629 | 0.79 |
| 2014/15 | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | Premier Liga | CM | 28 | 2303 | 85% | 4 | 1 | 0.20 | 0.12 | 1444 | 1663 | 0.88 |
| 2013/14 | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | Premier Liga | DM | 30 | 2576 | 95% | 4 | 3 | 0.24 | 0.15 | 1458 | 1650 | 0.92 |
| 2012/13 | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | Premier Liga | DM | 19 | 1465 | 54% | 4 | 1 | 0.31 | 0.20 | 1365 | 1588 | 0.88 |
| 2012/13 | SL Benfica | Liga Portugal | DM | 3 | 270 | 10% | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.08 | 1370 | 1701 | 0.86 |
Cups & continental competitions
| Season | Competition | Club | Apps | Min | G | A | Avg opp. Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | Uefa Champions League | Atlético de Madrid | 4 | 271 | 0 | 0 | 1638 |
| 2024/25 | Copa Del Rey | Atlético de Madrid | 3 | 270 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023/24 | Uefa Champions League | Atlético de Madrid | 10 | 888 | 0 | 0 | 1688 |
| 2023/24 | Copa Del Rey | Atlético de Madrid | 5 | 480 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023/24 | Supercopa | Atlético de Madrid | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1810 |
| 2022/23 | Uefa Champions League | Atlético de Madrid | 6 | 461 | 0 | 1 | 1611 |
| 2022/23 | Copa Del Rey | Atlético de Madrid | 4 | 327 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021/22 | Uefa Champions League | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 472 | 0 | 0 | 1583 |
| 2021/22 | Dfb Pokal | Borussia Dortmund | 3 | 215 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021/22 | Franz Beckenbauer Supercup | Borussia Dortmund | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 1892 |
| 2021/22 | Uefa Europa League | Borussia Dortmund | 2 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 1616 |
| 2020/21 | Uefa Champions League | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 362 | 1 | 0 | 1554 |
| 2020/21 | Dfb Pokal | Borussia Dortmund | 2 | 104 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019/20 | Uefa Champions League | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 611 | 0 | 0 | 1705 |
| 2019/20 | Dfb Pokal | Borussia Dortmund | 3 | 270 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019/20 | Franz Beckenbauer Supercup | Borussia Dortmund | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 1839 |
| 2018/19 | Uefa Champions League | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 630 | 1 | 0 | 1670 |
| 2018/19 | Dfb Pokal | Borussia Dortmund | 3 | 200 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2016/17 | Uefa Europa League | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 6 | 540 | 0 | 1 | 1453 |
| 2016/17 | Russian Cup | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 1 | 45 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015/16 | Uefa Champions League | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 7 | 630 | 1 | 1 | 1621 |
| 2015/16 | Russian Cup | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 4 | 380 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 2015/16 | Russian Super Cup | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 1 | 120 | 0 | 1 | 1513 |
| 2014/15 | Uefa Europa League | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 6 | 518 | 1 | 0 | 1613 |
| 2014/15 | Uefa Champions League | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 5 | 442 | 1 | 0 | 1658 |
| 2014/15 | Uefa Champions League Qualifying | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 2 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 1424 |
| 2014/15 | Russian Cup | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 1 | 75 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013/14 | Uefa Champions League | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 7 | 575 | 0 | 0 | 1653 |
| 2013/14 | Uefa Champions League Qualifying | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 4 | 339 | 0 | 1 | 1433 |
| 2013/14 | Russian Super Cup | AO FK Zenit Sankt-Peterburg | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 1578 |
Small continental samples are shown for context only and are not over-weighted.
Historical comparables
Most similar profiles 2+ years ago (same position group) and what happened next. Chosen by similarity only — failures included.
| Player (then) | Age | Value then | ~2y later | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomás Rincón Serie A · 2023 | 35 | €800k | €200k | fell |
| Mike Frantz Bundesliga · 2019 | 33 | €1.0M | €350k | fell |
| Kim Källström Premier Liga · 2015 | 33 | €2.0M | €1.1M | fell |
| Franco Brienza Serie A · 2015 | 36 | €300k | €300k | flat |
| Angelo Palombo Serie A · 2014 | 33 | €1.8M | €600k | fell |
| Tomás Pina Laliga · 2021 | 34 | €1.2M | €250k | fell |
| Thomas Mangani Ligue 1 · 2020 | 33 | €1.6M | €600k | fell |
| Renaud Cohade Ligue 1 · 2017 | 33 | €1.0M | €1.0M | flat |
Transfer history
Fees as reported by the source; undisclosed fees shown as unknown, never estimated.
| Date | From | To | Fee | MV at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 2025 | Atlético | Girona | Free / loan | €2.0M |
| 6 Jul 2022 | Dortmund | Atlético | Free / loan | €4.0M |
| 6 Aug 2018 | TJ Tianhai | Dortmund | €20.0M | €20.0M |
| 3 Jan 2017 | Zenit S-Pb | TJ Quanjian | €20.0M | €20.0M |
| 3 Sept 2012 | Benfica | Zenit S-Pb | €40.0M | €20.0M |
| 13 Jul 2011 | Standard Liège | Benfica | €9.0M | €10.0M |
| 1 Jul 2006 | Standard U19 | Standard Liège | Unknown | Data unavailable |
| 1 Jul 2005 | Standard U17 | Standard U19 | Unknown | Data unavailable |
| 1 Jul 2004 | Standard Yth | Standard U17 | Unknown | Data unavailable |
MoneyballAI identifies statistical opportunities from available data. A player flagged as a potential bargain is not guaranteed to succeed, to transfer, to rise in value, or to generate resale profit. Market values, fees and contracts come from third-party sources; ranges are model estimates with stated confidence.