Ronaldinho is Crowned Sovereign of the Mass Media

Ronaldinho is Crowned Sovereign of the Mass Media

Ronaldinho is more popular than Ronaldo and Beckham

Prodigious skills, an overwhelming smile, simplicity and charisma a are some e of the ingredients that have placed Ronaldinho at the peak of popularity. According to a study made by the Uneversidad de Navara, the footballer is the man with most media power of the 900 player of the Champions League. The Brazilian ace overcomes Ronaldo's efficacy and Beckham's elegance. Francesc Pujol and Pedro Garcia, the authors of the study, say that it is not only sports quality that counts; Ronaldinho has a weapon that captivates many spectators: his joy.

A player's media impact is directly related to the economic income they are able to generate in football. The study breaks down the media power by area and the language in which the news is broadcast. Real Madrid handles the new markets in the English-speaking area (the Beckham effect) and the French-speaking area (the Zidane effect). Barcelona dominates in the Spanish-speaking area, which is also the most important area fort he Madrid team (more than 50,000 news items a year for each team), and also in the German and Italian-speaking areas.

The conclusions of the analysis may be useful fort he football clubs, the media and the companies interested in sports sponsorship. At the same time, the study reveals that the scoring between the clubs has changed at the beginning of this season. Barça has squeezed Manchester United out of second place on the table and is close to achieving the first place, still held by Real Madrid. Ronaldinho's joy is certainly much more profitable than the 23 million euros he earns each year, according to a recent study made by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The Gaucho is not only great business for himself, but also for Barça, for Spanish football and for world sport.