Factors that affect a footballer’s value

During the last transfer window, we have seen a huge amount of money being spent by football
clubs. Despite Covid-19 pandemic, clubs have gone about their spending to make themselves
competitive. There are various factors that have an impact on a footballer’s value. In this article we
discuss a few of them:

Squad Status
A player could be an indispensable member of the team. Therefore such players will have a high
value attached to them. The more important a player is to the first team, the more money it will take
to prise them away. Every football team doesn’t want to lose their best players. If the player isn’t
playing as much as he would like, he could also force the transfer through.

Age
Even the age of the footballer is an important factor. A younger player has more career time than an
older player therefore will have a higher valuation. Looking at it from a depreciation point of view,
chances are younger players’ prices will increase as they develop whereas older players will lose
value. Players who are very young and have potential to be the next Ronaldo, will have a high market
value. For instance, Kylian Mbappe is a young Frenchman with immense talent and potential. The
21-year-old has already made a world record move to PSG. Moreover, his next move will also be
mostly likely a very high transfer fee.

Playing position
Forward players are valued much more than defenders. As forwards contributions can be seen in
goals/ assists, this adds a premium to players in this position. A glance at the top transfer fees by
position would suggest the goalkeeping position and full back positions are not essentially considered
an area of the team where a team should spend plenty. Whilst there have been some anomalies with a
handful of significant transfers of central defenders/fullbacks like Ferdinand/Kyle Walker. However,
these positions usually command a smaller transfer fee than strikers.
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Iconic Status
The status that a player can bring to a club will increase their value. If a player will increase
commercial value, ticket sales, TV contracts, they will be valued much higher. Cristiano Ronaldo has
a massive iconic status within world football. As well as being one of the world’s best, he brought
the huge celebrity aspect with him. This is why Madrid paid a world record £80m for his services.
This also plays an important role in transfers nowadays. Teams not only look at the price they pay,
but other factors that will allow them to re-coup the transfer fee.

Media & image

The media plays a much higher role in a footballer’s value than people think. If papers keep linking a
player to more clubs, his valuation will rise. If they show the player has a bad reputation, this will
reduce price. Clubs leak information to the media in order to extract higher fees.

Suarez’s image could be the reason for the difference in valuation. In the past, Suarez was part of
controversies that his club didn’t want to be embroiled in. His constant bans will have put suitors off
from paying a lager fee.

With social media playing an integral role in society, clubs want players who portray the club in a
professional manner. With every action scrutinized by the public, Clubs do not want to be involved
in a media storm. If a player is linked to bad off field problems, this could lead to the price falling.
Clubs want players that will not bring much baggage with them.