Messi, Ronaldo, and the Politics of Celebrity Elections

Voting for the Best Soccer Player in the World

Bibliographic Data

ID6323563
AuthorsChristopher J Anderson (0000-0003-3198-4172, University of Warwick, corresponding author), Luc Arrondel (0000-0003-0189-0175, Paris School of Economics), André Blais (0000-0003-4292-110X, Université de Montréal), Jean-François Daoust (0000-0002-2736-7430, McGill University), Jean‐françois Laslier (0000-0001-8334-1350, Paris School of Economics), Karine Van Der Straeten (Toulouse School of Economics)
Year2020
Volume18
Issue1
Pages91-110
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePerspectives on Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1537-5927 • E-ISSN: 1541-0986
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1537592719002391
OpenAlexW2941007576
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited65

It is widely assumed that celebrities are imbued with political capital and the power to move opinion. To understand the sources of that capital in the specific domain of sports celebrity, we investigate the popularity of global soccer superstars. Specifically, we examine players’ success in the Ballon d’Or—the most high-profile contest to select the world’s best player. Based on historical election results as well as an original survey of soccer fans, we find that certain kinds of players are significantly more likely to win the Ballon d’Or. Moreover, we detect an increasing concentration of votes on these kinds of players over time, suggesting a clear and growing hierarchy in the competition for soccer celebrity. Further analyses of support for the world’s two best players in 2016 (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) show that, if properly adapted, political science concepts like partisanship have conceptual and empirical leverage in ostensibly non-political contests

Advertising · Business · CONTEST · Leverage (statistics · Media studies · Political capital · Political science · Politics · Popularity · Power (physics · Sociology · Statistics · Voting · Law · Mathematics · Media Influence and Politics · Media Studies and Communication · Sports, Gender, and Society

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