Sports Performance and Social Media Popularity
An Analysis of Players in the 2025 Brazilian Championship Series A
Abstract
Professional soccer has increasingly incorporated quantitative methods to evaluate player performance and support decision-making processes. At the same time, athletes' growing presence on digital platforms has increased interest in understanding the relationship between on-field performance and public engagement. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between technical performance and digital engagement among players in the 2025 Brazilian Série A Championship using a multicriteria decision-making approach. This was a quantitative, descriptive, and observational study based on publicly available secondary data. The sample comprised 36 players who scored at least six goals during the competition. Technical performance was assessed using the Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS) methods, considering goals, assists, and shots as performance criteria. The association between the performance index and digital popularity indicators (Instagram followers and Google Trends), market value, and age was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The findings revealed no statistically significant association between technical performance and digital popularity indicators, age, or market value, although market value showed a positive trend (rs = 0.324; p = 0.054). These results indicate that technical performance alone does not explain players' digital popularity, suggesting that factors beyond sporting performance contribute to public visibility. Furthermore, the combined application of the SWARA and COPRAS methods proved to be an effective approach for the objective assessment of soccer players' performance.
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