Are European Soccer Players Worth More If They Are Born Early in the Year? Relative Age Effect on Player Market Value

Benito Perez-Gonzalez, Alvaro Fernandez-Luna, Daniel Castillo and Pablo Burillo
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Benito Perez-Gonzalez: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Isabel I, Calle de Fernán González, 76, 09003 Burgos, Spain
Alvaro Fernandez-Luna: Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo S/N, 28670 Madrid, Spain
Daniel Castillo: Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Isabel I, Calle de Fernán González, 76, 09003 Burgos, Spain
Pablo Burillo: Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo S/N, 28670 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: The relative age effect (RAE) consists of the lower presence of members of an age group born in the months furthest from the age cut-off date established. In youth soccer, it is known that because of this effect the birth dates of more players in a team are closer to the cutoff of 1 January. These older players, due to their physical and psychological advantages, are more likely to be identified as talent. This study aimed to examine whether RAE can be identified in professional players of the top five European soccer leagues (Spain, Italy, England, Germany, and France) and to assess its influence on the perceived market value of the players. Market value data for 2577 players were obtained from the Transfermarkt database. A significant RAE was produced in all leagues ( p < 0.05). However, this bias did not affect the market value of the professional elite soccer players examined here. Our observations indicate that, while the identification and promotion of talent at young ages are often biased by RAE, once players have reached the professional stage, the market value assigned to them is based more on factors other than their date of birth.

Keywords: economic value; relative age effect; soccer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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