Salah, Messi and Ronaldo: why has the player become more important than the club badge?

James Kirkham, an expert in sports brand strategy, confirms that Inter Miami's pink shirts have become a familiar sight in the streets of British and European cities and towns, even though many of those who wear them have no connection to the city of Miami and have never visited it.

The player is the key factor behind this spread, Kirkham believes. Fans want to show their connection to the stars who represent, for them, sporting and cultural icons, according to BBC Sport.

One comparison stands out here: Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona against Real Madrid, the American league against the Saudi league. The star himself has become a brand that transcends the boundaries of the club, the league and the country.

Following players is not a phenomenon limited to Messi and Ronaldo. It began years ago with other stars, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, before expanding with the significant development of video games and social media platforms.

Kirkham believes video games have reshaped how fans connect with football, and nowhere more so than among younger supporters.

That generation feels less attached to the traditional idea of club allegiance. Yet they know players and teams across a host of leagues inside out, thanks to games like "EA Sports FC" and "Football Manager", plus YouTube, tradable player cards and more.

A fan might now follow a team in a different country or league simply because a player they love wears its shirt. The badge and the history barely come into it.

Supporters play with these stars in video games, pick them for their virtual teams, then go out and buy the shirts of the clubs they turn out for in real life. The line between the virtual world and reality, Kirkham points out, has never been blurrier.

Supporting football has always been bound up with family and geography. Many fans are born into an allegiance to a particular club, and it stays with them for life.

A study titled "The rise of the second-club fan" points to a clear shift in that equation. Some 80% of football fans around the world now follow a second team alongside their primary club.

This doesn't mean a fan abandons their original club. They simply pick another team, or sometimes more than one, to follow and engage with.

Where domestic leagues are weak, the phenomenon grows. Geography counts for less in those countries and regions when it comes to shaping who a person supports.

A fan might pick their second club for its story, its culture or its values, or even because they love the look of the shirt. But the biggest factor remains the players.

When a player moves from one club to another, the study shows, some of his supporters go with him. It marks a clear shift in what sporting loyalty means.

For these fans, the club is no longer the sole focus. The player himself has become the centre of the relationship, and they follow individuals rather than institutions.

The rules of the game have changed rapidly in recent years, handing players far more control over their public image and their own narrative.

Antoine Griezmann was among the first stars to seize on this idea. Back in 2018 he announced "the decision" about his future through a documentary film, before stunning everyone by revealing he would stay at Atlético Madrid.

Griezmann took plenty of criticism at the time. Yet his idea caught on over the following years, as players turned themselves into independent media platforms broadcasting content straight to the fans.

Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jude Bellingham, along with Ella Toone, all offer clear examples of players who own their own channels and reach their fans well away from the clubs' official platforms.

Now the player can present himself exactly how he wants, build his own fan base and interact directly with supporters. That has handed him far greater influence over how the public sees him.

A player's popular value now outstrips what he offers on the pitch. His personality, his stances and the causes he adopts have become an essential part of his image.

Kirkham points to a shift: players carry far greater cultural symbolism than they once did, and they have grasped the importance of leaving a mark on fans that goes beyond results and titles.

Marcus Rashford is a case in point. He played an influential role in social causes during the coronavirus pandemic, forging a different relationship with a broad section of the fans.

Young supporters build a deeper bond with players when they know their stances, causes and principles, especially when they find something that chimes with their own identity and interests.

Major tournaments hand players an exceptional chance to build their personal brands, and no platform does the job quite like the World Cup.

Plenty of players caught the eye at this summer's tournament and watched their social media following explode, from household names to unlikely surprises.

Cape Verde goalkeeper "Vozinha" ranked among the most striking examples. He became a fan hero after his display against Spain, and his Instagram following rocketed from around 50,000 to nearly 30 million.

Lamine Yamal and Bellingham also cashed in on the tournament to lift their popularity. Cristiano Ronaldo, already boasting the biggest athlete fan base on Instagram, added even more followers to his tally.

Erling Haaland, though, was one of the biggest winners of all. His social media accounts saw a huge surge in followers.

Haaland's popularity stems from a range of factors. Fans connect with his personality, his spontaneous public image, and his active presence across social media.

Viral video clips, a steady stream of memes, his relationships with former team-mates and his distinctive appearance have all boosted his profile.

Matthew Kyle, head of insights and author of the report from "Engage" and "MTM", says Haaland has gained more than 51 million new followers across his social media accounts since 1 July. That compares to just 11 million during the first six months of the year.

His performance in the tournament drove some of that success, Kyle notes, but his personality, the way he interacts with fans and the flood of content about him mattered just as much.

The clearest measure of his personal brand? His Instagram following outstrips that of his club Manchester City by around 20 million. He also runs his own YouTube channel.

This shift leaves clubs facing a difficult equation. They gain hugely from their players' popularity, particularly through shirt sales and stronger fan engagement, yet they don't have full control over their stars.

A player can turn up on a television programme to talk about the music he likes. He can launch a podcast. He can create his own content, all without the club playing any direct part.

Clubs are aware of this reality, Kirkham believes, but there's little they can do beyond building their own media systems and content.

For the fans, though, this development is an opportunity. They now have far more ways to follow players and get a constant stream of content about their lives and careers, on and off the pitch.

The biggest challenge facing clubs is holding on to the fans a particular player brought them once he has gone. This is where the "national hero" comes into play: a star from a given country can throw open new fan-base doors for a foreign club.

Son Heung-min proves the point perfectly. His presence at Tottenham drove the club's popularity among South Korean fans to such heights that the London side overtook Manchester United as the most popular foreign team in the country.

Son may have left Tottenham, but the club did not suddenly shed its millions of Korean followers. His new team, meanwhile, saw its own following grow.

Trabzonspor tell a similar story. They reaped major fan-base and marketing gains after signing Egyptian star Mohamed Salah following his spell with Liverpool.

Kyle believes clubs must make the most of their stars while accepting that every player eventually leaves, whether for another club or into retirement.

Content that goes beyond the 90 minutes, then, could be the key to keeping fans.

Clips revealing the behind-the-scenes lives of players draw huge interest, even from those who don't support the clubs involved. Good content pulls in viewers simply because it's enjoyable and different.

"Welcome to Wrexham" shows exactly how figures tied to a club can attract audiences who don't necessarily follow football. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney turned fresh eyes towards Wrexham.

All these shifts point to one thing: football is entering a phase where the player becomes more than just a cog within a team.

Stars are now independent brands. They own their fans, their platforms and their content, and they can take a chunk of that audience with them wherever they go.

Clubs, in turn, can no longer lean solely on their history and badge to hold onto an audience. They have to build stories, characters and content that keep the fan connected even after their biggest names have gone.

A new era may be dawning, one where the fan isn't content simply to follow the club. They follow the player, the coach, the owner and every figure who shapes the team's story.

As Kyle puts it, football is like a long dramatic series. Seasons come and go, stories shift, characters arrive and others leave, but the story never stops.