A team of analysts led by UIC professor Pedro García del Barrio published the monograph “Media and Economic Appraisal of Football Players, Club Teams and National Teams”. The study is part of the MERIT Report on Media Value in Professional Football, 2011-2012.

Responsibility for these conclusions falls on the team of analysts from MERIT Social Value who evaluate intangible assets in the professional sports industry. The study is the result of analysing hundreds of thousands of news stories from worldwide media sources, as well as several million websites. Further information regarding the report and the MERIT methodology can be found at: www.uic.es/merit-football.

Rankings and comparative analysis are included in the study’s conclusions. They are the result of the continuous monitoring of over 5,000 players over three seasons. The most striking conclusion found in the study was possibly the sharp increase in value experienced by players who took part in the World Cup sporting event.

Through rigorous, detailed statistical analysis, the authors concluded that the fair value of the players who took part in the 2010 World Cup went up by 20.7% on average. By applying regression analysis, it was determined that the increase could be attributed to the 2010 World Cup. It should be borne in mind that these calculations refer to the average long-term increase in value, the result of comparing a player’s value before the summer of 2010 with the entire 2010-2011 season.

The average estimated value of players on the Spanish National Team, who were the 2010 World Cup champions, showed an increase of 39.23%, almost half of which could be directly attributed to the results of the World Cup. The calculations are based once again on the players’ consolidated media value over time, which shows that between 14.7% and 21% (depending on the method used) corresponds to an increase in value that can be directly attributed to winning the World Cup.

The report also includes an analysis of the media power of national teams in a more recent event: the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2012). In this context, the Spanish national team were the landslide winners in the media ranking prior to the Euro 2012, followed at some distance by England and the Netherlands. A national team’s media value is calculated by adding up the individual media value of the top 15 players among those selected by trainers in May 2012.

Without going into a detailed analysis, certain variables can be identified that explain the differences in players’ fair value.. The most notable of these variables are media value (both individual and with respect to the team), age, length of contract and the media status of the club that hopes to sign the player.

The MERIT methodology allows comparisons to be made that would otherwise be unfeasible. To compare the relative influence of the World Cup with the media following of other competitions, information was collected from a number of news sources over the same time period. This type of analysis shows that the 2010 World Cup was the football event with the highest concentration of media exposure of the season and was even ahead of the last part of the season, when there is combined interest in national leagues and the UEFA Champions League final, among other factors.

Another striking result is the long-lasting effect that the World Cup has on football. The success of the Spanish national team helped consolidate the leadership of Spanish football and the BBVA League for at least two years. In recent months, the English Premier League had regained the international hegemony that it had historically maintained and that was always reflected in considerable media visibility.

Finally, the study offers media analysis of club and national trainers. Although the dynamics and structure of the competition mean that club trainers generally receive more media attention, the national trainers have a better image and media perception among fans.

In this area, Vicente del Bosque stands out above all others. His media status could be considered the highest in the world. Chief among his defining characteristics is that fans perceive him as a unique trainer. This presumably has to do with the fact that few trainers have a track record that includes such prominent titles as the UEFA Euro, the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup.