Value of Star Players in the Digital Age

International professional football has become a billion dollar market worldwide. Up to half of the world's inhabitants watch major events such as the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA Champions League Final. Central players and elements in this global advertising market are the clubs' teams and the players themselves. Social media platforms today allow professional footballers to reach millions of people through private marketing as individuals, thereby creating their own brand. The brand and reach of each player is also a valuable resource for clubs in terms of player value and transfer activity. The outlined results in the following article show indicate a positive correlation between the social media value of professional players and the transfer activities of football clubs. Consequently, the impact of digitization on professional football can be shown by a relationship which has not been investigated in research to date.

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