Why football fans are following stars rather than clubs

Football supporters are increasingly forming their strongest attachment to individual players rather than the clubs they represent, with Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami providing one of the clearest examples of a shift transforming the sport’s commercial and cultural landscape.

The Argentina star’s arrival produced a huge marketing impact. Inter Miami’s social media following grew sharply, shirt supplies sold out and match-ticket prices increased significantly.

However, many of the new fans were drawn to the club because Messi was there, rather than through any previous connection with Inter Miami or the city of Miami.

James Kirkham, a sports brand strategy expert, said Inter Miami’s distinctive pink shirts had become a familiar sight on the streets of British and European cities, despite many wearers having no relationship with Miami and never having visited it.

“The player is the key driver,” Kirkham told BBC Sport. He said supporters wanted to display their connection with stars who had become sporting and cultural symbols.

That helps explain the continuing comparisons involving Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League. The biggest players are increasingly becoming brands that extend beyond their club, league and country.

The trend is not limited to Messi and Ronaldo. It began years ago with players including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and has accelerated with the growth of video games and social media.

Kirkham believes games have had a particularly strong influence on younger supporters. Fans now have less of a traditional connection to one club, while knowing a great deal about players and teams across different leagues through games such as EA Sports FC and Football Manager, YouTube, trading cards and other online sources.

A supporter may therefore follow a club in a different country or competition simply because a favourite player plays for it, rather than because of the club badge or its history. In video games, fans select those players for their virtual teams before buying the shirts they wear in real life, making the boundary between the digital and physical worlds increasingly unclear.

Traditionally, football loyalty was shaped by family and geography. Many people were born into support for a particular club and carried that allegiance throughout their lives.

But a study titled The Rise of the Second Club Fan suggests that 80% of football supporters worldwide now follow a second team alongside their main club. That does not mean they have abandoned their original side. Instead, they choose another club, and sometimes several, to watch and engage with.

The pattern is particularly common in countries and regions without strong domestic leagues, where location has less influence over a person’s football identity. A second club may be chosen because of its story, culture, values or even the design of its shirt, although players remain the most influential factor.

The study found that when a player moves clubs, some of his supporters may move with him. For this group, the institution is no longer the sole focus of the relationship: the player becomes the centre of attention.

Players build their own platforms

The balance of power has changed quickly in recent years. Players have gained much greater control over their public image and the stories they tell about themselves.

Antoine Griezmann was among the first high-profile players to make particularly clear use of that idea. In 2018, he announced “The Decision” over his future in a documentary, before surprising viewers by confirming he would remain with Atletico de Madrid.

Griezmann was criticised at the time, but the approach became increasingly common. Players have since developed their own media platforms, allowing them to publish directly to supporters.

Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Ella Toone are among those with their own channels and direct lines of communication with fans away from official club platforms.

That enables players to present themselves as they wish, develop their own audiences and interact directly with supporters. Their value now extends beyond what they produce on the pitch. Their personalities, opinions and causes have become an important part of their public identities.

Kirkham said players had acquired a far greater cultural significance than in the past and understood the importance of leaving an impression that went beyond results and trophies.

Marcus Rashford is one example. His work on social issues during the coronavirus pandemic gave him a different kind of relationship with a large section of the public.

For younger fans, understanding a player’s views, causes and principles can create a deeper bond, particularly when those characteristics match their own identity and interests.

Major tournaments provide players with an exceptional opportunity to strengthen their personal brands, and there is no larger stage for that purpose than the World Cup.

During the tournament held this summer, several players saw major growth in their social media audiences, including established stars and those who emerged unexpectedly.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha was one of the most notable examples. He became a fan favourite after his performance against Spain, with his Instagram following rising from about 50,000 to nearly 30 million.

Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham also used the tournament to increase their popularity, while Cristiano Ronaldo, who has the largest Instagram following among athletes, added further followers.

Haaland was among the biggest beneficiaries, with his social media audiences increasing dramatically. His popularity has been driven by several factors, including an approachable personality, an unforced public image and an active presence online.

Viral videos, memes, relationships with former team-mates and his distinctive appearance have also helped raise his profile.

Matthew Kyle, head of insights and author of the report produced by Engage and MTM, said Haaland had gained more than 51 million new followers across his social media accounts since 1 July, compared with only 11 million during the first six months of the year.

Kyle said the player’s performances at the tournament were one part of that success, but his personality, his interaction with supporters and the spread of content about him were equally important.

One of the clearest signs of Haaland’s personal brand is that his Instagram following is about 20 million larger than Manchester City’s. He also has his own YouTube channel.

Clubs face a difficult balance

The development creates a complicated situation for clubs. They benefit significantly from the popularity of their players through shirt sales and higher levels of fan engagement, but they cannot fully control those stars.

A player can appear on a television programme to discuss their favourite music, launch a podcast or create independent content without the club being directly involved.

Kirkham said clubs understood that reality but had limited options beyond developing their own media operations and content systems.

For supporters, however, the change offers more ways to follow players and receive a continuous stream of material about their lives and careers on and off the pitch.

The biggest challenge for clubs is retaining fans who arrived because of a particular player after that player leaves. The idea of the “national hero” is significant here, with a star from one country able to open up a new audience for a foreign club.

Son Heung-min is a prominent example. His time at Tottenham helped increase the club’s popularity among South Korean supporters, making the London club the most popular foreign team in the country, ahead of Manchester United.

Although Son has since left Tottenham, the club did not suddenly lose its millions of South Korean followers, even though his new team did experience an increase in its audience.

The same principle applies to Trabzonspor, which gained substantial commercial and fan benefits after signing Egypt star Mohamed Salah following his career at Liverpool.

Kyle said clubs needed to make the most of having major stars in their squads while recognising that players would eventually leave, either by transferring elsewhere or retiring.

Creating material that goes beyond matches could be the key to keeping those supporters. Behind-the-scenes videos about players’ lives within a club attract considerable interest, including from people who do not support the club, because engaging content can draw viewers simply by being entertaining and different.

The series Welcome to Wrexham illustrates how figures associated with a club can reach people who do not necessarily follow football. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney helped introduce Wrexham to new audiences.

Taken together, these changes point to a new phase in football, in which a player is more than just one member of a team.

Stars now operate as independent brands with their own audiences, platforms and content, and they can take part of that following with them wherever they move.

Clubs can no longer rely solely on tradition and a badge to retain support. They must create stories, personalities and content capable of keeping fans connected after their biggest stars depart.

Football supporters may increasingly follow not only the club, but also the player, manager, owner and every other character involved in the team’s story.

As Kyle puts it, football resembles a long-running drama series: seasons continue, stories change and characters arrive and leave, but the story never stops.