The “asset” player and his production in the context of football’s political economy: preliminar discussions

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the conceptualization of the “asset” football player, as well as its repercussion within the football industry. The investigation was characterized as exploratory and bibliographical. As main findings, the relevance of the athletes for the production of wealth in the modality was perceived, as much in the club-club relation, as by the club-footballer link, notably, from the capitalist restructuring in its late phase. On the other hand, when comparing the “asset” with the concept of work force, it was concluded that it is necessary to problematize the accounting definition of “asset” as the most appropriate one to explain reality, particularly, the process of production of value by the football industry.