The Campeonato Brasileiro is not only one of the world's most exciting and competitive football competitions, but also one of its most valuable financially. Over time, Brazil has become a true leader in the South American market, acquiring players of many different nationalities and establishing itself as a strong, competitive league.
Some recent studies help us better understand the size of the Campeonato Brasileiro in terms of value when compared with the world's leading leagues. Although methodological differences exist between these studies, both reach similar results, with the Brasileirão appearing among the planet's most valuable leagues.
Football Benchmark Places the Brasileirão in the Top 10
Football Benchmark's study values a league according to the clubs that make it up. In other words, it uses the combined market value of the players at each club in the league. The Premier League, for example, which is the world's biggest league, is valued at more than 11 billion euros. To reach that figure, the platform calculated the arithmetic mean of the players' market values, then multiplied the resulting value by the number of active players in the league.
It is no surprise that the Premier League reaffirms its supremacy once again, evidence of the league's financial strength and global reach. When the aggregate value of players in football leagues is considered, the Premier League emerges as the undisputed leader. The aggregate value of English league squads is more than twice that of second-place La Liga.
The Brasileirão, in turn, demonstrates its strength by taking eighth place among the ten leagues with the highest aggregate player value worldwide. It even surpasses European leagues such as the Netherlands' Eredivisie and Turkey's top division and is the only league from outside Europe in this top ten.
IFFHS Study Reinforces the Campeonato Brasileiro's Position Among the Most Important Leagues
In a recent study, the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics), an important source of football data, also released its ranking of the world's most important leagues. The method used by the federation, however, differs from the one used by Football Benchmark.
The IFFHS considers clubs' performance in international competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Copa Libertadores, as well as the market value of the players making up their squads. It also considers leagues' television contracts and sponsorship agreements, which have a significant influence on their total revenue.
The study uses a scoring system that considers teams' sporting performance according to the most important competitions. The Brasileirão ranks fourth with 1,290.5 points, ahead of major leagues such as the Bundesliga and Portugal's Primeira Liga.
The IFFHS top ten was as follows:
1 - Serie A (Italy) - 1,619.5 points
2 - Premier League (England) - 1,567 points
3 - La Liga (Spain) - 1,447 points
4 - Brasileirão - 1,290.5 points
5 - Bundesliga (Germany) - 1,282.75 points
6 - Ligue 1 (France) - 1,282.75 points
7 - Primeira Liga (Portugal) - 1,097 points
8 - Eredivisie (Netherlands) - 1,049.75 points
9 - Pro League (Belgium) - 1,004.75 points
10 - Argentine Championship - 966.5 points
