The study was prepared by the team of
analysts at Merit Social Value, which assesses intangible assets in the sport
world. Some of the results released so far include the ranking of the 20
footballers with the highest media value in the world (at January 2013). The
study also lists the top 10 teams, as well as the comparative position of the
individual country leagues and an analysis of the main players by country. 

Once again, Leo Messi (FC Barcelona) is
the media leader with 32.9 points in the MERIT ranking. He is followed by Cristiano Ronaldo
(Real Madrid) with 30.6 points. Quite a way behind in third place is Wayne
Rooney (Manchester United) with 19.6 points. This year there is only a
two-point difference between Messi and Ronaldo, whereas one year ago Messi led
by almost eight points. However, these two media leaders continue to stand out
considerably from the rest.

The data show that La Liga BBVA
accounts for five of the top ten world players and that five players on the
Spanish national football team (Casillas, Iniesta, Mata, Torres and Ramos) are within
the top 15.

In terms of team rankings, Real Madrid
is in first place (131.05 points), followed by FC Barcelona (105.73 points),
which had been the undisputed leader in recent years. Manchester United came in
third (98.97 points). Manchester United has come much closer to FC Barcelona,
mainly due to the services of Robin van Persie, one of the world's leading
media icons. The ranking of coaches is a reflection of the media status of the
clubs. The leader is José Mourinho, followed by Tito Vilanova and Sir Alex
Ferguson.

Atlético de Madrid
is the team that depends most on its leading star, Radamel Falcao, whose media
value accounts for 40.9% of the club's visibility. FC Barcelona is another case
in which the team's main media asset focuses most of the attention, given that
Leo Messi accounts for 31.1% of the club's overall status. This aspect (the
distribution of media value on the team) may be one of the reasons that has
allowed Real Madrid to top FC Barcelona in the overall team ranking. Real
Madrid's level of dependence on Ronaldo is currently at 23.3%, whereas the
team's other media stars enjoy significant value on different markets and in
different countries.

When the media position of the football
leagues in individual countries was compared, the results were surprising: the
Barclays Premier League surpassed La Liga BBVA as the league with the highest
media value in the world. The Italian Serie A league and the German Bundesliga
retained third and fourth places, respectively. Finally, the French Ligue 1
gained considerable ground, probably due to the new players signed by PSG: Ibrahimovic,
Thiago Silva, Lucas Moura, etc., and now David Beckham.

If we look at the footballers in the
top 50 whose media value increased the most, the standouts include Falcao (Atlético de Madrid),
Hazard (Chelsea) and Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund). These players seem to
have the most promising futures, given that their presence in the media
increased the most in the first half of the 2012-2013 season.

The analysis by country deserves
special attention. The information provided in this mid-season preview ranks
the top five players in terms of media value in five different countries. In
four of the five countries with the top association football leagues in the
world, the top spot was taken by a player on a team in that country, except for
Germany, where the top player was Mesut Özil.