The Evolution of Football Player Valuation: A Bibliometric Analysis (2000-2025)
Keywords:
Market Valuation, Financial Fair Play, Player Transfer Fees, Bibliometric Analysis, Vosviewer, Merchandising Revenue
Abstract
Clubs and investors need to have full knowledge of the economic conditions within the football game, because the movement of the market value provides a strong force on the transfer strategy as well as the wage structure and financial regulations of fair play. A bibliometric analysis has been conducted to evaluate the market valuation of professional football players and investigate the extent to which the idea of performance metrics and the institutional factors have influenced the valuation practices of clubs in the transfer market. A sample of 357 publications, which are listed in the Scopus database between the year 2000 and 2025, was collected and utilized to determine the current trends and research gaps. VOSviewer was used to analyze the corpus and produced networks of co-authorship, co-citation, co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling. The study reveals that recent research in the field of sports economics and finance is majorly written in Europe, published in journals dedicated to football business and economics, and uses more sophisticated tools, including machine learning, player-tracking data, and network analysis to determine player value in the transfer market. Network visualisations indicate three major areas like what drives transfer fees and wage rates received by clubs, how financial controls in leagues and revenue systems affect player values, and new valuation systems that combine on-field performance metrics with financial information. Since 2018, the trends have highlighted the high volatility of player values in an instant, the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on salaries and market values, and the talent concentration required in order to create competitive balance. The research offers an extensive summary of the discipline, descriptions of under-researched field topics, including women football and lower leagues, and outlines the practical solutions on managing the club and future research directions.
References
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Khalife, D., Yammine, J., Chbat, E., Zaki, C., & Jabbour Al Maalouf, N. (2025). Dynamic Financial Valuation of Football Players: A Machine Learning Approach Across Career Stages. International Journal of Financial Studies, 13(2), 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs13020111
Cheng, S. W. (2024). Application of Multiple Linear Regression Models in Predicting the Value of Football Players. Science and Technology of Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental Protection, 1(9). https://doi.org/10.61173/w0md4g69
Rong, Z., Wang, L., & Xie, S. (2024). Factors that Influence Player Market Value in Different Position: Evidence from European Leagues. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/82/20230718
Poli, R., Besson, R., & Ravenel, L. (n.d.). Econometric Approach to Assessing the Transfer Fees and Values of Professional Football Players. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10010004
Margareta, L. M., & Malinda, O. (2022). The Effect of Performance, Age, Transfer Fee and Salary to the Market Value of Professional Players (Empirical Studies in European Leagues Football Clubs). International Journal of Global Operations Research, 3(3), 101–107. https://doi.org/10.47194/ijgor.v3i3.148
Franceschi, M., Brocard, J., Follert, F., & Gouguet, J.-J. (2023). Football players in light of economic value theory: Critical review and conceptualisation. Managerial and Decision Economics. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4039
Kedar-Levy, H., & Bar Eli, M. (2007). The Valuation of Athletes as Risky Investments: A Theoretical Model. Social Science Research Network. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=983811
Kedar-Levy, H., & Bar-Eli, M. (2008). The Valuation of Athletes as Risky Investments: A Theoretical Model. Journal of Sport Management, 22(1), 50–81. https://doi.org/10.1123/JSM.22.1.50
Cohen, A., & Risk, J. (2025). European football player valuation: integrating financial models and network theory. Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. https://doi.org/10.1515/jqas-2024-0006
Islam, K., & Nahid, M. H. (2024). Applications & implications of data-driven analytics in the football player valuation. SHS Web of Conferences, 204, 04006. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202420404006
Poli, R., Besson, R., & Ravenel, L. (2024). Statistical Modeling of Football Players’ Transfer Fees Worldwide. International Journal of Financial Studies. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs12030093
Yalçınkaya, M. A., & Işık, M. (2024). The Role of Performance Metrics in Estimating Market Values of Footballers in Europe’s Top Five Leagues. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1489554
Andorra, A., & Göbel, M. (2024). Unveiling True Talent: The Soccer Factor Model for Skill Evaluation. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2412.05911
Pinheiro, G. de S., Quintão, R. C., Nascimento, V. B., Claudino, J. G., Alves, A. L., Costa, I. T. da, & Costa, V. T. da. (2022). Small-sided games do not replicate all external and internal loads of a football match-play during pre-season: A case study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 18(1),152–159.https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541211069935
Laakso, T., Davids, K., Luhtanen, P., Liukkonen, J., & Travassos, B. (2021). How football team composition constrains emergent individual and collective tactical behaviours: Effects of player roles in creating different landscapes for shared affordances in small-sided and conditioned games. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 174795412110300. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541211030076
Calle-Jaramillo, G. A., González Palacio, E. V., Rojas Jaramillo, A., & González-Jurado, J. A. (2024). Differences between expert and novice players in execution time and decision-making in technical-tactical actions in football (passing and driving) performed under laboratory conditions. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v52.101267
Kusuma, I. D. M. A. W., Kusnanik, N. W., Pramono, B. A., Pranoto, A., Phanpheng, Y., Susanto, I. H., Amustikarani, D. A. P., Nirwansyah, W. T., & Bharlaman, M. B. F. (2024). Anaerobic Soccer Training Model: Enhancing Soccer Players’ Performance through a Combination of Repeated Sprints and 4 vs 4 Games. Теорія Та Методика Фізичного Виховання, 25(1), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.17309/tmfv.2025.1.01
Sánchez-López, R., Echeazarra, I., & Castellano, J. (2021). Validation of a Football Competence Observation System (FOCOS), Linked to Procedural Tactical Knowledge. Sustainability, 13(12), 6780. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU13126780
Lilić, A., Joksimović, M., Chomani, S. H., D’Angelo, S., & Andelić, M. (2022). Influence of Body Composition Parameters on Agility in Female Football Professional Players. Polish Journal of Sport and Tourism, 29(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.2478/pjst-2022-0005
Sannicandro, I., Cofano, G., D’Onofrio, R., & Piccinno, A. (2023). Jumps and Lower Limb Strength Asymmetry in Young Soccer Players: Differences Between Sand and Conventional Surfaces. Теорія Та Методика Фізичного Виховання, 23(4), 636–642. https://doi.org/10.17309/tmfv.2023.4.20
Craig, T. P., Swinton, P., Barrett, S., & Maughan, P. C. (2022). Locomotor activities and subjective load differences between professional youth soccer players and professional development loans: A comparative analysis. 174795412211411. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221141145
Han, P., Tang, S., & Bairner, A. (2023). Citizenship without identity? Instrumentalism, nationalism and naturalization in Chinese men’s football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902231199580
Balliauw, M., & Van Den Spiegel, T. (2018). Managing professional footballers’ finances to avoid financial problems: A Belgian survey. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 8(4), 318–334. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-01-2018-0003
Gardasevic, J., & Bjelica, D. (2019). Shooting Ball Accuracy with U16 Soccer Players after Preparation Period. Southern Medical Journal, 17(1), 29–32. https://doi.org/10.26773/SMJ.190205
Balassiano, V., & Bullough, S. (2021). Measures of Academy Productivity in English Championship clubs. Team Performance Management, 27, 332–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/TPM-09-2020-0083
Ansori, M., Tomoliyus, T., Sudarko, R. A., Primasoni, N., Widodo, H., & Anggraeni, E. (2024). Effect of small-sided game versus high-intensity interval training method in increasing anaerobic endurance in youth football athletes (15-17 years). Pedagogy of Physical Culture and Sports, 28(5), 353–359. https://doi.org/10.15561/26649837.2024.0503
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Published
2026-02-23
How to Cite
Dudeja, A. (2026). The Evolution of Football Player Valuation: A Bibliometric Analysis (2000-2025). International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 9(3), 286-302. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v9i3.3297
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