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Winning games and winning trophies are the primary objectives of any football team. Football has become the most popular sport on the planet and trophies of most high-profile tournaments are recognizable to football fans around the world.
There has to be no better feeling for a football team than taking home an iconic trophy at the end of a tournament. Being the world's most followed sport, there is a lot of money invested in the 'beautiful game'. So it comes as no surprise that these iconic trophies in football have a lot of value in terms of money as well.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the most expensive trophies in world football.
#5 Serie A - €55,000
The Serie A trophy which is given to the winner of the Italian top-flight at the end of every season costs €55,000. It is called "Coppa Campioni d'Italia" and the trophy has been in use since the 1960-61 season.
But until 2004, the trophy was never handed to the winning team at the stadium. It used to be consigned to the head office of the winning club. The tradition changed in 2004 and ever since then, Serie A winners have been afforded the opportunity to parade the trophy around the ground.
Even though the Premier League is the richest league in the world, the Serie A trophy is the most expensive league trophy in Europe. That should tell you a little about how much Italians value these things.
#4 Africa Cup of Nations - €127,000
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has received a lot of heat recently for calling 'Africa Cup of Nations' a 'little' tournament. The German coach defended himself saying that he did not mean to belittle the tournament and that his quote was taken out of context.
While what Klopp is saying might be true, you can't really fault Africans for taking offense to such a comment. After all, the Africa Cup of Nations is one of the most prestigious continental football competitions in the world.
The real value of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy is a fair reflection of how important a title it is. The Africa Cup of Nations trophy costs a whopping €127,000 and is more than twice as expensive as the Serie A trophy which is right behind it in terms of value.
#3 Ballon d'Or - €508,000
On top of all that money he earns as wages and via sponsorship deals, Lionel Messi also has more than €3.5 million in just Ballon d'Or trophies sitting in his cabinet. That's right, football's most prestigious individual prize costs a little more than half a million Euros.
The Ballon d'Or is awarded by French news magazine France Football and is given to honour the best performing player in the world of football over the course of a year. Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time this year and has gone one step closer to cementing his status as the GOAT.
The Ballon d'Or trophy is quite majestic and reportedly weighs around 12 kgs. It has two brass plates embossed to make it look like a ball. It is reportedly chiseled to give it a spherical shape before it is bathed in fine gold to make it look as regal as it does.
#2 FA Cup - €1 million
Well, here's a bit of a surprise. The FA Cup, which is the biggest knockout cup competition in England, has the second most expensive trophy in the world of football. The trophy has had two designs and there have been five actual cups.
The current one is a replica of the 2014 design which is made from 6.3kg of sterling silver. It took English luxury brand Thomas Lyte 250 hours to craft this majestic piece of silverware.
Arsenal are the most successful side in the history of the FA Cup. They've won the title 14 times. Manchester United are close behind in second with 12 FA Cups in their cabinet.
#1 FIFA World Cup - €17 million
It is only fitting that the biggest trophy in football is the most expensive of it all. The FIFA World Cup is the most expensive trophy in world football and it's not even a competition. Its real value is an incredible €17 million.
It has 18 carats of gold and there are two bands made from Malachite at the base of the trophy. It weighs 6.1 kilograms. The trophy is majestic and its main body features two human figures holding up a globe (the Earth).
It is the most recognizable trophy in the world of football and we will see it change hands once again in Qatar in 2022.
