With Football Index, traders can use their knowledge to invest in players whose stocks are low, sell them when their values skyrocket, and pocket a reward in between.
Apart from fluctuations in share prices, traders can also earn a profit on ‘Match Day Rankings,’ which uses Opta data to monitor footballers across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, to find the Top Defender/GK, Top Midfielder, Top Forward and Star Player from each Match Day. As explained in our Football Index FAQ article, players can also earn profits from Media Rankings and In-Play Dividends.
No matter what the league, or the team, or the age of a player, you can rake in the earnings with Football Index. Now, everyone knows about the likes of Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes and Neymar, but here are three under-the-radar players who could churn out some hefty profits for Football Index traders.
Looking for more Football Index strategy? Check out @GingerPirlo_FI’s weekly Football Index tips and trading roundup.
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Football Index Underrated Gems
1. Felipe Monteiro – Atletico Madrid
Age: 30
Price: £0.59
Player Profile:
For those of you who have followed my ‘Weekly Wonderkids’ series on Football Index, you know I have a special liking for youngsters on the verge of a breakthrough. But with Football Index, you can make a profit by signing underpriced players on the wrong side of 30, such as Felipe Monteiro.
Felipe is the textbook definition of a ‘late-bloomer.’ Growing up in São Paulo, Felipe had a trial at Corinthians, the biggest club in his city, but was released at 14. After trying his hand at other sports, he eventually turned back to football and tried his luck at tractor manufacturer Valtra, which partnered with fourth tier Brazilian club União Futebol Clube. It was there where he moved from centre forward to centre back, and what followed was his first real education in football.
However, things weren’t easy. In order to make a living, he put his career on pause to work for his mother-in-law as a mushroom deliveryman. Each morning, he’d wake up at 3:40 a.m. to deliver all kinds of mushrooms — shiitake, white button, you name it — to restaurants.
Felipe’s career in football would’ve been buried in the ground had it not been for the DVDs of his matches that he produced. He handed out those DVDs to several teams, and eventually, he got an offer from second-tier Bragantino. A string of impressive performances earned him a move to Corinthians, the very same club that rejected him nearly a decade prior.
“At Corinthians, they had a lot of patience with me,” said Felipe in an interview with MARCA. “I was 23 and they taught me like I was 15.”
Soon enough, the next big move came. At 27, Felipe left Brazil for the first time in his life, heading off to become a first team regular at Porto under Nuno Espirito Santo. He helped them break Benfica’s dominance in the Primeira Liga under Sérgio Conceição, with his leadership qualities earning him a place in the Liga NOS team of the year.
Just days after his 30th birthday, Felipe signed for Atlético Madrid for €20 million to replace the departing captain Diego Godín. Since then, he’s stepped into the Uruguayan’s lofty shoes and assumed the role as the leader of the defence, a captain without the armband.
Football Index Insight
It has been a topsy-turvy season for Atleti, one which has seen them attempt to divulge from their traditional style of play, cope with the departures of Godín, Filipe Luís and Juanfran in defense, and keep challenging for silverware. Nevertheless, Felipe has stood out as one of the shining lights in their campaign, and it’s not out of the question that he will get another call-up for Brazil as they attempt to defend their Copa America title this summer.
A title challenge is far-fetched at the moment, but they do have a chance to recapture the magic of Diego Simeone’s golden days by eliminating the unstoppable Liverpool from the Champions League. With a 1-0 lead to defend, they’ll need to hold on for dear life at Anfield in March. If they’re to progress, they’ll certainly need Felipe to put in the performance of a lifetime and eliminate an unstoppable Liverpool team from Europe.
If Atletico do make it past their biggest test, the Champions League is suddenly a very realistic target for Felipe and company and you can expect to see a healthy rise from his £0.59 share price.
2. Rafinha – Celta Vigo (on loan from Barcelona)
Age: 27
Price: £0.68
Player Profile:
Rafael Alcântara do Nascimento, better known as Rafinha, could be considered one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in recent times, up there with the likes of Abou Diaby, Javier Pastore and Yoann Gourcuff. Along with his older brother Thiago, the two were once seen as La Masia’s brightest promises, but they have embarked on markedly different paths.
Thiago left his boyhood club to join Bayern Munich in 2013, while Rafinha has never left Barcelona on a permanent deal, although he has had three separate loan spells at Celta, and Inter. While Thiago decided to play for the Spanish national team, Rafinha switched from to Brazil in 2012 and has since become cap-tied. And while Thiago has dealt with plenty of injury woes himself, he’s still managed to become the midfield orchestrator for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Rafinha, on the other hand, has never quite shaken that tag of injury-prone, talented could-have-been.
After impressing for the B team in the Segunda, Rafinha was sent to Celta Vigo in 2013, where he’d reunite with manager Luis Enrique. It was here in Galicia where Rafinha broke onto the scene, and at the end of his loan spell he was crowned the La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Season.
The following season saw him rotated into the Barcelona squad under Enrique as the Blaugranas won their second treble. At the start of 2015/16, he filled in for the injured Neymar in the first few games, scoring in Barcelona’s Super Cup triumph against Sevilla. Things were going well…until Radja Nainggolan came to town.
After coming on as a substitute in the Stadio Olimpico, Rafinha’s season was cut short by a horror tackle from Nainggolan. Rafinha tore his ACL, and after recovering from that injury he underwent knee surgery that would sideline him for eight months.
With Rafinha in need of game time and Inter in need of a playmaker, Barcelona opted to send him on loan to Italy. He regained his form there, playing behind Mauro Icardi, who, ironically, was benched by Rafinha at Barcelona’s youth teams. Together, the two brought Inter their first Champions League qualification since 2010.
However, Inter decided against taking up the purchase option on Rafinha, instead signing his old nemesis Radja Nainggolan. He returned to Barcelona, impressing in spurts only to have his season prematurely ended by another ACL rupture.
Football Index Insight
Last summer, Rafinha renewed his contract with Barcelona for another year, before joining Celta de Vigo on loan. It was part of ‘Operación Retorno’, a strategy that saw several ex-Celta players like Rafinha, Denis Suárez, and Santi Mina return to the Balaídos.
Once again, Celta are ensconced in another relegation fight, but thanks to Rafinha, they’re keeping their heads above water, if only by a slight margin. He has been the leader of Celta’s recent revival; in the past three games, they’ve beaten Sevilla and Leganés, and have held Real Madrid to a draw. He’s given Óscar García’s side a dose of technical quality, stamina, and above all, determination.
With Celta returning to form and faced with some very winnable matches over the next couple of months, Rafinha could be due a nice rise in price. The Brazilian has been the top performer at Celta this season, picking up two man of the match performances, two goals and an assist in his last nine appearances. For a player of just 27 and potentially destined back at Barcelona next season, a share price of £0.68 looks like it holds a decent amount of value.
3. Christopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig
Age: 22
Price: £2.51
Player Profile:
On March 11, 2018, I went to my first ever football match in France. It was a lopsided affair, a league match between eventual champions PSG and the soon-to-be relegated Metz. PSG would go on to win 5-0, but out of all the players who stepped foot on the Parc des Princes pitch that day, it wasn’t Kylian Mbappé or Ángel Di María or Marco Verratti who impressed me the most. Instead, it was a 20-year-old boy by the name of Christopher Nkunku.
Playing as the most advanced midfielder in Unai Emery’s 4-3-3, Nkunku expertly controlled Verratti’s through ball to score the second goal, before receiving Di María’s lay-off pass, taking a few strides into the edge of the box, and firing a shot past Eiji Kawashima. Nkunku was the star of the show in that 5-0 drubbing.
After breaking into the first team picture under Emery, Nkunku struggled for minutes under Thomas Tuchel and was largely limited to the bench. When the summer transfer window came along, PSG decided to balance the books by selling their plethora of homegrown talents. Nkunku was part of that exodus, heading off to RB Leipzig.
Football Index Insight
Since that transfer, he’s exploded into the spotlight under the management of Julian Nagelsmann — one of the best talent developers in the continent. He’s fielded Nkunku in a unique role, a hybrid between a winger and a midfield interior. Playing behind Timo Werner and Patrik Schick, he’s in the best form of his career, and Leipzig are reaping the rewards.
Last weekend, in a 5-0 thrashing of Schalke, he became the first player in Bundesliga history to register four assists in a single half. Only Jadon Sancho and Thomas Müller have more assists than him in Germany, and thanks to his combination of versatility, aggression, and technique, Nagelsmann has managed to work his magic with yet another youngster.
Unsurprisingly, Nkunku’s price has seen a meteoric rise thanks to his form. However, RB Leipzig are still well in the Bundesliga title race and on top in their Champions League tie with Spurs. Nkunku’s PB scores are improving every week and he’s produced three man of the match performances in his last seven appearances. With N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Tanguy Ndombele and Moussa Sissoko all struggling for fitness this season, a France call up is on the horizon and a Euro 2020 appearance could see Nkunku’s share price rocket.
Want More Football Index Content?
Make sure to check out our Football Index FAQ to learn everything you need to know about getting started on the platform. Once you’re set up, why not dive into the life of a successful trader with @GingerPirlo_FI’s weekly Football Index Tips, where he rounds up his week on the Index and gives some helpful pointers for the upcoming period.
Zach Lowy will also be bringing us some more of his underrated gems in the very near future too, so keep your eyes peeled!
If you’re still not satisfied, follow us on Twitter and keep an eye out for our upcoming expert Football Index Q&A
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