Cristiano
Ronaldo has been dealt a
blow ahead of next week's
Ballon d'Or announcement as
details emerge of a deal
between Adidas - the main
sponsor of Lionel Messi - and
Fifa.
Under the terms of the
agreement, Adidas enjoys
exclusive rights for the
promotion of Fifa Ballon d'Or
merchandise, while Nike,
Ronaldo's main sponsor and
that of fellow leading
candidate Franck Ribery,
does not possess the same
privilege.
It means the Real Madrid
forward, who is favourite to
land the prize, will be unable
to make money from the
award in the same manner as
his great rival and current
holder.
"These official partnerships
are the reasons why we can
use the official award name
within promotional activity and
therefore, by the same token,
why Nike could not," Ben
Goldhagen, Senior PR
Manager for Adidas UK and
Ireland, told Goal.
Adidas produced a special
edition f50 boot to
commemorate Messi's fourth
consecutive Ballon d'Or win
last January and plans are
afoot for a similar campaign in
spring in the event of a Messi
win in the 2013 voting.
"We would certainly look to
repeat that approach next
time around," Goldhagen said.
"Messi has his own limited
edition boots coming in March
[regardless of the Ballon d'Or
outcome]."
Ronaldo and Nike, by
contrast, would not be
entitled to market such a
Ballon d'Or-inspired boot in
the event of a victory for the
Portugal captain.
Adidas is one of Fifa's six
World Cup 'official partners'
and has supplied balls and
equipment for every
tournament since 1970. In
November, the 43-year
partnership was renewed to
cover all Fifa events through
2030. The previous deal was
renewed in 2005 at a cost of
around €30m per year. The
new agreement is believed to
be worth significantly more.
Kicked into touch |
Ronaldo can't make money
from Ballon d'Or success like
Messi
Adidas predicts that its sales
in the football category will
reach record highs of €2
billion in 2014, up from a total
of €1.7bn in 2012. Much of
that sum will depend on Messi
and his exposure in football's
great untapped wilderness -
America.
Marketing plans for the
Argentina captain could be
made all the more fruitful
were he to win the Ballon
d'Or. The company has
already launched a Messi
range of clothing and
footwear and the Argentina
international is only the
second footballer after David
Beckham to have such a line
tailored by Adidas.
"He hasn't really been
marketed in the US," the
director of Adidas' North
American football project,
Ernesto Bruce, told the
Oregonian in August. "We're
going to market him as the
world's best player. We think
the 2014 World Cup will be
historic for Messi."
Nike and Fifa declined to
comment.