TOPSTAR

When Cristiano Ronaldo was presented as a new Real Madrid player on Monday, 80,000 people were inside the Bernabeu Stadium. Several fans had to be restrained from jumping on their team's new star player, and the club reportedly sold 3,000 shirts (emblazoned on the back with the player's name) in two hours. Is what has been predicted for the last four weeks now coming to pass? Will Ronaldo truly be a golden egg laying goose for the Spanish club? Or was the presentation of Ronaldo the same kind of pomp that one normally see for any players at Spain's biggest clubs? Is Ronaldo himself on the verge of massive global and commercial success? Is he the new Brand Beckham; or does he have a long way to go yet; and, given the kind of person/athlete he is, will he ever be the commercial equal of Beckham? Within CIBS, we have been examining what it takes to become a global athlete brand, and propose that Ronaldo and, for that matter, will need to address some or all of the following before they can ascend to a position of commercial power:

Team – the team(s) that a player plays for or has played for; the associations a player has with a particular team; the profile, reputation and success of the team; the player’s role within the team;
Off-field – where the player lives; who the player socialises with and where; who the player is married to or is dating; the type of house the player lives in, the car they drive, the clothes they wear;
Physical characteristics, mentality and values – the facial appearance and physique of the player; other distinguishing features such as hairstyle, tattoos etc.; the way a players thinks and the views they hold;
Success – the player’s on-field record; the number of trophies, medals and prizes the player has won; the winning teams and games in which the player has been involved;
Transferability – the extent to which the player appeals to males and females, young and old, followers and non-followers of football; the extent to which the player and their image are culturally and geographically transferable; language(s) spoken;
Age – the stage at which a player is in their career; viewed in product life-cycle terms, this will have an impact on the profile, characteristics and longevity of the brand as well as influencing how the brand is managed;
Reputation - the player’s reputation as footballer; style of play; disciplinary record; the player’s reputation outside of football; way the player deals with public and media attention.

Within these parameters, does Cristiano Ronaldo, or Kaka, embody the qualities and characteristics needed to become global athlete brand successes?