Vini Jr doesn't win the Ballon d'Or, but he has the most valuable brand in Football; see ranking

The 24-year-old Brazilian Vinicius Junior, a Real Madrid player, did not win the 2024 Ballon d'Or, at an awards ceremony held in Paris this Monday (28). However, its brand remains among the strongest among athletes, according to experts consulted by InfoMoney.

If evaluators in the world of Football judged that Vini Jr. did not deserve the Ballon d'Or, in the world of marketing he is the great champion of football – above Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.

Vini Jr is the best positioned footballer, and occupies second place overall in the annual ranking The most marketable athletes of 2024 (The Most Marketable Athletes of 2024), from SportsPro made in partnership with NorthStar Solutions Group. The list, which takes into account a score from 0 to 100 assigned to each athlete, is made up of 50 athletes from different modalities, evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively within three main areas: Brand Strength, Total Addressable Market and Economy (market numbers ).

Despite being a newcomer to the list, the Brazilian is above the legendary basketball player LeBron James, in third place, and is second only to gymnast Simone Biles, leader of the ranking. James reached 91.26 points.

See the top ten names in the ranking:

• 1st position: Simone Biles – 96.16 points
• 2nd position: Vini Jr – 91.52 points
• 3rd position: LeBron James – 91.26 points
• 4th position: Caitlin Clark – 90.26 points
• 5th position: Lionel Messi – 89.67 points
• 6th position: Rebecca Andrade – 86.19 points
• 7th position: Kylian Mbappé – 85.63 points
• 8th position: Ilona Maher – 84.60 points
• 9th position: Cristiano Ronaldo – 84.31 points
• 10th position: Katie Ledecky – 84.27 points

According to Forbesthe Real Madrid striker earned US$40 million in earnings “on the field” and US$15 million in earnings “off the field”, reaching 7th position in the ranking of the highest paid football players in the world in 2024 – and on its debut on the list. The gains are equivalent to around R$312 million.

Considering its active contracts with Nike, PlayStation, Pepsi, EA Sports, Vivo Gatorade, Clear, Rexona, Omo, Betnacional and Dubai Tourism, the average value of each contract would be US$1.36 million, or R$7, 75 million.

For Amir Somoggi, director of Sports Value, a company specialized in sports marketing, club management and valuationthe Vini Jr. brand. It’s worth a lot because it speaks to Generation Z.

“The level of engagement of this audience is higher and their consumption trajectory is at the beginning. For brands that partner, it is essential to have an issuer that speaks to Generation Z, because the younger I attract the customer, the longer their journey with me will be”, explains Somoggi.

For Ivan Marinho, professor of the Sports Marketing course at ESPM Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing and working in the same area within the CBF (Brazilian Football Commission), the Vini Jr. brand goes far beyond the four lines of the football field.

“If we were to draw a parallel with another athlete, he is similar to Louis Hamilton, who has the courage to question racism. Generally players are not willing to participate in discussions on social issues and this is a differentiator for Vini – which can bring criticism in the short term, with the potential to undermine his performance as an athlete, but which builds an even stronger brand in the long term. ”, says Marinho.

Did activism weigh against the Ballon d'Or award?

There is no consensus on the possibility that Vinicius Junior's anti-racist activism could have cost him the Ballon d'Or in a season in which he won, together with Real Madrid, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the two Spanish national championships, the La Liga League and Copa Del Rey.

For Marinho, there is no relationship between Vini's position and not being chosen as the winner of the award. “The award criteria are linked to performance on the field”, he points out.

“We cannot confirm the relationship between the events. But we know that other players, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, ignore these social issues. And we know that there are people who turn up their noses at this. There is also an argument that Vini did not shine in the Brazilian team. In any case, it is no discredit not to win this award, after all, it is a great prestige to be nominated. But this activism, unfortunately, is not always in favor”, says Somoggi.