NEW: ESI-rg Biannual Report on Media Value in Football. February 2008 edition (released: February 20, 2008)
Download here the Press Release (in Spanish)



Content:
1. Players' Media Value (first half of season 2007-2008)
2. Teams' Media Value
3. The Economic and Media Value of Home Grown Players (Champions League, Premiership and Liga Teams).
4. The added value of foreign players in big five leagues.
5. The fair transfer value of winter window 2007-2008 movements.
6. Assessing sponsorship deals through Media Value: Bundesliga teams' shirt sponsorship.

The leader of the players' ranking in terms of media value for the first half of the season 2007/08 is Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United). he reaches a media value level of 14.8 points (i.e. Cristiano has received 15 times more media and popular attention than the average of the players in current Champions League competition. he maintains the first place that he reached in the precedent ranking (June 2007, concerning the season 2006/07). Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona) stays as the second most valuable player of the world in terms of media value. This place is for Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona). In the precedent ranking he took the place 12th. Top 20 players come from the Big Three Leagues teams (England, Spain, Italy), with the exception of David Beckham, who remains a media value reference (even if his brand has decreased globaly but has been strongly reinforced in the English speaking markets).

We show here some examples of media coverage given to the Report on Media value in football, February 2008 edition (R08)

El País, Montevideo. Henry, Messi y Bojan convierten al Barcelona en el equipo más mediático del mundo.

Diari Avui, Barcelona. El Barça es rearma.

Expansión, Madrid. El FC Barcelona, el más mediático del mundo.

Football.fr, París. Le Barça: Le club le plus supporté en Europe et le plus médiatique du monde.

La Opinión, Los Angeles, EEUU. El Barça desbanca a Man-U.

La Vanguardia, Barcelona,  El Barça es el club más mediático.

Jornal O Globo, Brasil. Barcelona lidera ranking de valor midiático mundial de clubes.

El Comercio, Perú. El Barcelona es el equipo más mediático del mundo.

Deutsche Welle, Alemania (en español). Messi y Tévez arrasan en los medios.

Tribal Football, Australia, Superkids help Barcelona pip Manchester United in global popularity stakes.

De Volkskrant, Netherlands, Barcelona smacht naar het wondershone voetbal.

These next two weeks, the world of football will be entirely focussed on the Champions League semi finals. If this competition attracts global audience, this year will be specially the case.

The semi final opposing FC Barcelona against Manchester United will show in action six of top ten players in the world by media value (five in fact as Ronaldinho is still injured), according to ESI-rg February 2008 ranking update. Cristiano Ronaldo, Waine Rooney and Carlos Tevez for Manchester United, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry (and Ronaldinho) for FC Barcelona. They represent 62% of the media value produced by top 10 players. Football is sport and entertainment, and the games in Barcelona and Manchester represent the essence of sport as spectacle, which will undubtely capture unseen global media attention.

Two other players among top 10 footballers play in the other semi final: Didier Drogba (Chelsea) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool).



8 out of top 10 players in the world will thus increase their global media value exposure thanks to their teams sport achievement.

We find other four players among top 20 players in the Champions League semi finals: Fernando Torres  (Liverpool), Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona) and Frank Lampard and John Terry (Chelsea).



The actual leading position attained by Cristiano Ronaldo is probably definitive, and he should appear as the leading football star in the world before the Euro 2008 in our June 2008 ranking. But the Champions League semi finals and final will be crucial for the final media value ranking of top 10 and top 20 players for the season 2007/08, as many of them will receive huge media exposure these next few weeks. This will penalize top players like Kaka, Raul or Cesc Fabregas, whose teams are absent in the last stages of the main international football competition.

Enjoy the spectacle.