Trajectories and (De)valuations in Professional Football
A Sociological Study on the Market Value of Brazilian Athletes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8918.142756Keywords:
Sociology of sport, Market value, Transfer marketAbstract
This article analyzes, through an analytical case study, the effects of both on-field and off-field determinants on the construction of market values of Brazilian footballers playing in the top European leagues between 2019 and 2022. The research is grounded on the centrality of valuation and the multiplicity of criteria involved in the contemporary football market. The theoretical framework is based on Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, in dialogue with the concepts of “football capital” and “football system” as reformulated by Damo and Rial. Eight players were selected and categorized into four ideal-typical categories: end of career, injury proneness, image crises, and future prospects. Using data from the Transfermarkt platform, the study examines the chronological evolution of players’ market values in relation to the identified factors. The findings contribute to a sociological understanding of the transfer market as a symbolic space shaped by struggles over prestige, visibility, and public speculation.
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