Both pay for the best footballers of the last decade. However, the work of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the big European clubs is a thing of the past. While the Portuguese gunner headed to Saudi Arabia, the reigning world champion from Argentina is now plying his trade in Major League Soccer in the US. “Ronaldo’s decision surprised me. I don’t believe that he would suffer financially,” says sports marketing expert Michael Marek in an interview for the iROZHLAS.cz server.
Miami/Riyadh
20:33 August 21, 2023 Share on Facebook
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Who do you think has done better from a marketing point of view out of the pair of these phenomenal footballers Cristiano Ronaldo – Messi?
In the case of Ronaldo, it seems to me to take a backseat to the sporting aspect, where the main motivation is the financial side of things, while with Messi, I see it as a decision made out of pure love of the sport. It’s a move into an interesting market and if you look at the numbers of attendance and popularity of football in America, I think it’s already the number three sport.
In the case of Messi, it is a step into an interesting market. If you look at the numbers of attendance and popularity of football in America, it is – I suspect – the number three sport. MLS as a competition has been going extremely high in recent years both in terms of quality and viewership, so in my view Lionel Messi has done better.
We saw it in a few matches, what he managed to do there and how tremendously he popularized the competition and was able to attract fans all over the world.
Michael Mark
Specialist in sports marketing and PR, long-term cooperation with leading Czech athletes in football, tennis and basketball.
Why do you think football competitions in the Middle East are not so attractive to the European market? The matches are not broadcast, it is not easy to find, for example, a compilation of Ronaldo’s goals on the Internet…
For a long time, people went there mainly to earn money at the end of their careers, when the player wanted to secure himself for the rest of his life. This is related to the attractiveness of the competition, which did not bring anything above-standard for European viewers. Another factor could be the weather, as I can imagine that playing a physically demanding sport in such conditions is not for everyone.
This summer, however, there was a breakthrough when the club owners were able to rope in top European players, moreover, at a productive age, which will certainly help to improve the quality of the entire competition, which will therefore be much more attractive. But it is still true that the main motivation is not to try another competition, but to earn money.
Cristiano Ronaldo chose Saudi Arabia | Source: Reuters
Saudi Arabia, like Qatar, has long faced criticism for violating human rights and freedoms. Human rights organizations draw attention to the so-called sportswashing, i.e. that the ruling regimes improve their own image by investing in sports. What do you think?
This has already happened in connection with the World Cup in Qatar, when reports spread that human rights were being suppressed during the construction of the stadiums. But from the player’s point of view, it’s probably not the first thing he would look at when transferring somewhere.
In terms of social responsibility, it’s a shame, because the words of the biggest stars can have a big impact on the decisions of other players and fans. However, there would have to be some massive campaign to have a chance of making a difference, otherwise it won’t play a major role.
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So who made the most in terms of prestige? Ronaldo or Messi?
I was personally surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to move to Saudi Arabia. I always thought of him as an athlete who wants to compete with the best and achieve the highest achievements. You can reach these in Europe. With this step, he probably fell for a lot of people, because he let himself be roped in by money. I don’t believe that he would suffer financially.
For a long time, there has always been a dispute about who is the better soccer player, Messi or Ronaldo. It was with this step that Messi showed that he is number one, because although he had the same option according to speculation, he chose a different solution. I have no doubt that he can build on his performance from Barcelona and PSG and conquer the entire USA.
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2023-08-21 18:33:00
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