What would top soccer players be worth in Adam Smith’s barter economy?

Mesut Ozil: The Coca Cola secret formula

You can’t put a price tag on Mesut Ozil. The way he elevates his teammates is invaluable. It’s also a little intangible.

Soccer analytics are still in their infancy, so it’s difficult to measure exactly how much Ozil adds to his team. We still don’t have a reliable metric for quality passes. Assists don’t cut it from an analytical perspective. Some have tried using what’s called the Key Pass Metric. However, this a flawed system that doesn’t account for careless shot taking or poor placement. Caveats aside, Ozil is typically ranked around second in the Premier League when measured by this system.

Ozil is difficult to put a definite value on. It doesn’t help that he hasn’t been sold in four years. Since then, he’s had his most productive seasons.

In that way, he’s like the Coke secret formula. It hasn’t been sold since Asa Candler bought it in 1891, so we don’t know what it’s worth. We don’t even know if there’s anything special about it. Also, while researchers know the basic ingredients and quantities from studying it, they still don’t fully know the process of making it.

It’s an enigma, and so is Mesut. We may never know what goes on in his mind, how he breaks down the game. Maybe he’s like an octopus and doesn’t experience time in a strictly linear fashion. Perhaps he plays each game in his mind beforehand, seeing every possible outcome. We simply don’t know. Nothing can account for his creative talent. Unless it’s the same thing as what makes Coke taste worse than Pepsi.