KUALA LUMPUR: Though they finished bottom of their group in the Asian Cup, Harimau Malaya's value, ironically, has gone up.
The Malaysian team's appearance at the quadrennial Asian showpiece has raised their worth to €6.78m (RM34.8million) from €6.73 million, according to Transfermarkt.com.
Though Malaysia lost their first two group matches, 4-0 to Jordan and 1-0 to Bahrain, they caught the imagination of an Asian audience with a battling 3-3 draw against mighty South Korea.
What is more remarkable is that the two teams from Malaysia's Group E, South Korea and Jordan, qualified for the Asian Cup semi-finals.
This goes a long way to say that the Malaysian team do amount to something.
Sports observer Datuk Dr. Pekan Ramli said: "The overall value of Harimau Malaya saw a slight increase after the Asian Cup.
"It's a positive indicator of the value of players as individuals."
But he feels that the increase in value won't be significant unless players like Arif Aiman Hanapi and Faisal Halim get an offer from overseas clubs.
"If we look at South Korea, Kim Min Jae (Bayern Munich) and Son Heung Min (Tottenham Hotspur) alone contribute Є€110 million to the Taegeuk Warriors' overall value of €193 million. Min Jae and Heung Min are valued at €60 million and €50 million respectively.
"Japanese footballers Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) and Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion) are the biggest contributors to the Samurai Blue's value of €318.40 million, the highest in Asia.
"Just like Heung Min and Min Jae, they are valued at a total of €110 million, worth €60 million and €$50 million, respectively."
Pekan pointed out that the most valuable player in Kim Pan Gon's team is Dion Cools at Є€800,000, and is ranked 128th in Asia while Arif is worth €Є550,000 and ranks at 183rd.
"There are no drastic changes to the market prices of Harimau Malaya players. To get rated higher, they will need to ply their trade with better teams abroad.
"Let our shouts be heard loudly on social media to help raise the visibility of our own players, but they will need to stand out for talent scouts.
"They need to prove that they are not a mere 'one-trick-pony' with just one memorable moment from just one goal, and instead have consistent performance throughout the game.
"The scouts out there won't be mesmerised or convinced by just one fantastic move, but they will look at overall performances."
South Korean and Japanese players at the ongoing Asian Cup in Doha dominate the top "10 Most Valuable" list.
Taking the top prizes are Kubo and Min Jae followed by Heung Min and Mitoma.
Completing the top 10 are Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu (Є€30 million), Hiroki Ito (VfB Stuttgart), Hwang Hee Chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and Lee Kang In (Paris Saint-Germain) at €22 million, SC Freiburg's Ritsu Doan (US$18 million) and Ko Itakura of Borussia Monchengladbach (€15 million).
The most expensive player for the 2024-2025 M-League season is Johor Darul Ta'zim's Jalil Elias. The Syrian midfielder (€3million) is ranked 40th on the Most Valuable Players' list at the Asian Cup.