Step into line: Cristiano Ronaldo undergoes his
Madrid medical in a branded shirt that upset his new club's
marketing men
Cristiano Ronaldo is already giving the Real Madrid
money men a headache by apparently refusing to play ball with their
marketing strategy.
The Spanish giants pay him £200,000 after tax and give him a 50
per cent share of shirt-sale profits after his £80million transfer
from Manchester United made him the world's most expensive
player.
But the 24-year-old world record transfer from Manchester United is proving he will not
be pushed around by a club who have a long-standing tie-up with
German sportswear firm adidas.
Ronaldo has already raised eyebrows by wearing a massive Nike
logo on the T-shirt he wore to his well-publicised Madrid medical.
And it has emerged he rejected a plan to have 'C. Ronaldo' on his
new No 9 shirt, which would have distinguished him from plain old
Ronaldo - the Brazil legend who wore the same shirt until just over
three years ago.
It is feared that dropping the 'C' means thrifty fans can use
their old Madrid merchandise rather than help fund the eye-watering
transfer, though it hasn't stopped next season's jersey flying out
of the shops.
Real Ronaldo? Madrid's original Ronaldo of Brazil
lets fly as then Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg looks on (right)
in a 2006 Champions League clash
Club president Florentino Perez has reportedly tried to
talk Ronaldo into signing with Madrid adidas once his association
with Nike has ended, to little avail.
Perez prefers his star signings to be adidas affiliated - such
as Kaka and Karim Benzema, plus Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham
in the past. But Nike saw his transfer as an ambush marketing
opportunity rather than a threat and neither they nor Ronaldo
intend to tone down their relationship.
While Ronaldo's 50-50 sharing of image rights means he must
share half the proceeds of new commercial deals, it is understood
the Spaniards do not get their hands on earnings from his lucrative
pre-existing contract with Nike.
The Portugal forward has already shown his marketing savvy. He
trademarked 'CR7' while at Manchester United and earlier this year
added 'CR9' and 'CR10' to his portfolio ahead of the expected move
to Spain.
