RIO DE JANEIRO: Spain, Argentina and Brazil have the most expensive squads of the 32 sides competing in the World Cup in June, Brazilian financial daily Valor reported on Monday.

The squad of reigning champions Spain is worth an estimated 486.9 million euros ($674 million), ahead of 474.1 million euros for Argentina and 470.2 million for hosts Brazil, according to sports analysis consultancy Pluri Consultoria.

The company valued Germany’s squad at 445.6 million euros with France coming in ahead of England at 398.6 million euros for Les Bleus to 354.2 million for Roy Hodgson’s hopefuls.

Belgium’s squad outranks Italy at 336.1 million to 322.4 million for the Azzurri.

The report ranked Argentina and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as the highest-valued player at 138.1 million euros despite a 1.4 percent drop in his estimated price over the past year.

Portugal and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo saw his estimated value rise 11.4 percent over the past year after he landed the world player of the year accolade — but he still trails Messi by more than 30 million euros.

At 107.3 million euros, Ronaldo’s estimated current market value is more than a third of the 287 million euros for the entire Portugal squad.

Honduras bring up the rear with their squad valued at just 32.3 million euros — or less than one quarter of Messi and half the estimated 67.4 million for Brazil and Barcelona star Neymar, whose price tag is up 22.5 percent on last year.

The values are based on 77 criteria including age, technical ability, fitness and also marketing clout up to the date of the participating nations’ last outings.

The consultancy will update its values after the final squads are unveiled on May 7.

Rio workers to remain on strike

Workers at the main venue of the 2016 Olympic Games voted on Monday to continue their strike indefinitely, just days before officials from the International Olympic Committee are due to visit Rio de Janeiro and encourage the city to speed up preparations.

Around 2,500 workers at the Olympic Park, a huge area that will host more than a dozen events, are seeking higher pay and more benefits.

“We don’t know how long we’ll be on strike,” Antonio Figueiredo Souza, president of the construction workers union Sintraconst-Rio, told Reuters.

“We are not going back until we get an offer. So far that hasn’t happened and so it looks like this will end up in the Labour Courts.”

The strike began on April 3 and is the latest in a series of problems affecting the preparations for the 2016 games, the first ever to be held in South America.

Brazil’s preparations are way behind schedule, and work at some venues has not even started. With just over two years to go before the Games begin organizers are still to say how much the extravaganza will cost and which sphere of government will pay for the different jobs that need to be done.

The IOC last week announced Rio needs more oversight and said it will send officials to the city on a more frequent basis. The IOC’s executive director Gilbert Felli is to return to the city later this week.

Brazil is also hosting soccer’s World Cup in June and July, and preparations for that event are similarly problematic. Three stadiums are yet to be finished with the opening match less than two months away.