Xuân Son "calls out" the world's transfer specialist, requesting fair recognition for the Vietnam national team.

A brief remark from Nguyen Xuan Son on social media swiftly drew the interest of fans in Southeast Asia.

Recently, the page Seasia Goal posted information about the squad values of teams participating in the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026.

According to the shared statistics, Transfermarkt values Indonesia's total squad at 9.43 million euros, the highest in the region. Vietnam ranks second with 6.63 million euros, ahead of Thailand (5.48 million), Singapore (3.73 million), Malaysia (3.33 million), Myanmar (3 million), Philippines (2.63 million), Cambodia (2.08 million), Laos (1.19 million), and Timor-Leste (810,000 euros).

Although according to this statistic, the value of the Vietnam team still ranks second in Southeast Asia, it is only two-thirds of Indonesia's (6.63 million vs 9.43 million euros). And this number has remained largely unchanged over the past two years.

This apparently displeased striker Nguyen Xuan Son. Commenting on the post, the Vietnam national team forward directly tagged the world's leading player valuation site Transfermarkt to express his opinion. Son believes that the numbers provided by this website do not accurately reflect the true value of Vietnamese players. Son wrote in English, roughly translated: "Hello Transfermarkt, I think you should adjust those market values. That's not right. Please reconsider the value of my teammates."

Without using harsh words, the number 12 striker gently mentioned Transfermarkt and asked the famous German player valuation site to "reconsider" the prices assigned to his teammates.

Transfermarkt has long been regarded as one of the world's most reputable transfer databases. However, the website itself also states that the numbers are only estimates of market value, not official transfer fees or absolute measures of professional ability.

A player's value is determined by many factors such as age, contract, current league, international transferability, injury history, form, and market interest.

This also explains why football nations with many players playing in Europe, especially naturalized players with experience in top leagues, are often valued highly. Indonesia is a prime example, as most of its squad value comes from players currently or previously playing in Europe.

Meanwhile, the majority of Vietnamese internationals still play in the V.League. This league has a much smaller market size compared to European national championships, making it difficult for their valuations to break out even though their international achievements are no less impressive.

In modern football, Transfermarkt values not only appear in statistical tables. They are also data frequently referenced by international media, clubs, scouts, and fans worldwide. Therefore, when a team consistently achieves good results yet many players still have modest valuations, the feeling of "not being properly evaluated" is understandable.

After all, transfer values are just numbers on paper. But being fairly evaluated is recognition for an entire football nation striving to assert its position. That is exactly what Xuan Son wanted to convey when he publicly addressed Transfermarkt.