Overshadowed by popularity: The value of second-tier stars in European football

Fabienne Jedelhauser (), Raphael Flepp () and Egon Franck
Additional contact information
Fabienne Jedelhauser: Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich
Raphael Flepp: Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich

No 397, Working Papers from University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Abstract: Superstars in European football are exceptionally talented and enjoy celebrity status. While second-tier stars, i.e., players barely below superstar status, lack popularity, their marginal contribution to team performance on the pitch relative to that of superstars is unknown. Relying on league-specific preseason market value distributions to define superstars and second-tier stars, we compare the marginal contributions of superstars and second-tier stars to team performance on the pitch in the top five European football leagues. Examining the impact of unexpected injury-related absences, we find that second-tier stars’ marginal contribution is at least equal to that of superstars. Thus, European football players with the highest market values do not outperform second-tier stars in terms of their marginal contributions to team performance on the pitch. These findings have important implications for football managers, as the players with arguably the highest costs for clubs do not contribute accordingly to short-run sportive success.

Keywords: Superstars; second-tier stars; marginal contribution; team performance; football (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J44 Z20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2022-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul, nep-lma and nep-spo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Overshadowed by Popularity: The Value of Second-Tier Stars in European Football (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zrh:wpaper:397

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