How much would the Seville 2003 Celtic team be worth today?

Love a bit of AI shenanigans.

How would the 2002-03 “Road to Seville” Celtic side would stack up in today’s football economy. The results were pretty eye-opening.

Turns out that while Celtic are financially richer now than ever — record revenues, £77m in the bank, etc. — the 2003 team would probably blow our current squad out of the water in pure player value terms.

Here’s the breakdown based on modern equivalents and current transfer market trends:

Typical 2002–03 XI
(under Martin O’Neill)

Code:

GK: Rab Douglas
CB: Joos Valgaeren
CB: Bobo Baldé
CB: Johan Mjällby
RM: Didier Agathe
LM: Alan Thompson
CM: Neil Lennon
CM: Paul Lambert
CM: Stiliyan Petrov
CF: Chris Sutton
CF: Henrik Larsson

Player Modern Equivalent Est. Value (£m)
Rab Douglas | A. Gunn-type | 5
Joos Valgaeren | Tarkowski-type | 20
Bobo Baldé | Van Dijk-lite | 25
Johan Mjällby | Aké-type | 20
Didier Agathe | K. Walker-type |18
Alan Thompson | Ward-Prowse-type | 25
Neil Lennon | Jorginho-type | 15
Paul Lambert | Older Casemiro-type |10
Stiliyan Petrov | J. McGinn-type | 40
Chris Sutton | O. Watkins-type | 35
Henrik Larsson | Lau. Martínez-type | 70
➡️ Total XI value: ~£283m
Matchday squad (Hartson, Maloney, etc.): ~£340m

⚖️ Compared to 2024–25 Celtic:
Current first-team squad value: ~£120–130m (Transfermarkt).
Top players like Hatate, Tierney, and Carter-Vickers are valued around £10–15m each.

Verdict
So even though Celtic are financially stronger than ever, the footballing quality of the Seville team was on another level — probably worth three times our current squad.

That 2003 side had world-class players like Larsson and top European performers across the park. If they existed today, they’d be a £300m+ team, easily Champions League last-16 standard.

What do you think — has any Celtic side since come close to matching that 2003 group?

 

You forgot Hartson, McNamara, Hedman, Varga etc, before even taking into account academy guys like Marshall, Maloney, Kennedy, etc

 

Perhaps a very unpopular opinion around here....and the road to Seville was my absolute peak of being a celtic fan...But to be honest I do think we talk up just how brilliant we were when we good but not close to "top european performers".

Over that 3 year period:

2001/02, knocked out of champions league group stage, then knocked out first round of the uefa cup we played in.

2002/03, knocked out champions league qualifiers before getting to UEFA final (won nothing domestically though).

2003/04, knocked out champions league group stage, last 16 of UEFA.

You say we would be last 16 standard today, but we werent ever last 16 champions league standard then.

That isnt to criticise that team. It was brilliant fun and people today probably underestimate the utter transformation in the 10 years prior to that run. That is why it felt so special. Also arguably a bigger achievement in that context than being a top 16 european team in itself. I just think we are mis-remembering if we think we think Bobo Balde was a 'van * light' and would be worth 25m today!

 

That's true, but Celtic went back to back last 16 in the CL under Strachan, and think most people would agree of WGS team only Nakamura and Boruc would be nailed on 100% in combined XI from the MO'N & WGS era.

Think WGS team, while less dynamic was certainly more pragmatic, and that helped them on the European stage.

 

The player comparison to the modern counterparts has some wild shouts. Bobo being Van Dijk lite the best one I think.

Sutton and Watkins definitely was think of English strikers these days and it’s him or Kane

Martinez for Larsson is an interesting shout but. I can see where that comes from, for a modern style comparison to Henrik but it probably is Kane.

All round player, creative, an insane array of different types of goals and neither have much in outstanding physical traits that make them as good as they are, it’s pure football brain and always knowing where to be on the pitch. And both have a knack to somehow never get marked at set pieces. Strikers that can do that has always confused me, it’s clearly a skill that they know how to, but how the * can you know how to just not have a defender on you, even just standing still in the box. Eto’o said Larsson taught him how to. It’s * actual magic that to me.