How Much is a Footballer Worth?

Most of us will agree that Premiership footballers' wages are too high. Far too high. Far, far too high! 

However, how should we decide what such a wage should be?

We hear that Wayne Rooney is paid £250,000 a week. Others are paid similar obscene amounts ... all the way down to marginal clubs whose players might earn as little as £20,000 a week.

 Is Rooney worth £250,000 a week and how do we know? Because of Rooney, Manchester United might be more

• successful than if he didn't play for them 
• exciting to watch 
• consistent from game to game 
• and so on

Can we quantify these effects? Yes, for example, if we can say how many more people watch United because of Rooney together with the money they pay over. We can quantify the number of Rooney shirts and boots that are sold by or on behalf of United. And so on; but this is all very pedestrian and it might be that Rooney has no marginal value.

After all, United has been very successful for decades so has Rooney made their position any better?

Let's look at JiSong Park now: Manchester United's South Korean player. I have found an estimate of his wage of £65,000 a week: much less than Rooney. Can we evaluate Park's worth? Well, I think we can evaluate Park's worth much better than we can evaluate Rooney's worth.

Take a look at this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2038633/Park-Ji-sung-Manchester-Unioteds-Korean-cash-machine.html That article sets out the reality that because Park is a United player AND is seen to be an all round good egg, he is adored in South Korea. A MILLION pounds worth of United shirts adorn a South Korean back, over a MILLION South Koreans carry a Manchester United credit card with Park's face on it, television audiences are massive because of Park. When Park was not played in the first team by United, South Koreans got a bit itchy about it!

 These Park related matters can be very easily quantified I think. The possibility is that the money rolling into United's coffers from South Korea could easily be just a tenth of what they are now ... that's a blind guess.

Let's see what happens when Park retires from United. Will there be a replacement South Korean at Old Trafford? If there is no replacement for Park will merchandise and credit card income from South Korea dry up?

 Fascinating, if you ask me!

 Duncan Williamson