BRAND MESSI IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
Lionel Messi may not have set the World Cup alight with his magical skills so far, but results in Russia will do little by themselves to damage the brand that he is While Messi missed a penalty against Iceland, arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo has carried Portugal to the verge of the second round by scoring all four of their goals. Messi has been conspicuous by his inability to contribute. But in the real world, the value of a player is less volatile. Raffaele Poli, head of the CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland, values Messi at 184 million euros ($214 million), almost double the value of brand Ronaldo. “Messi is one gamechanging performance away from reminding the world why he is still one of the most sought-after brand ambassadors ,” says Andy Sutherden, global head of sports and partnership marketing at Hill and Knowlton Strategies.
THERE’S STILL HOPE IN RUSSIA 0-3
The crushing defeat to Croatia means Argentina must beat Nigeria in their final game and hope that Iceland — the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup with a population of 332,000 — fail to beat Croatia on June 26. Both games will kick off at 11.30pm India time.
BELGIUM AND MEXICO THROUGH
Dark horses Belgium and Mexico followed in Croatia’s footsteps to make it to the knockout stage by winning two straight games. Belgium thrashed Tunisia 5-2 while Mexico beat South Korea 2-1 on Saturday.
Even if Lionel Messi heads home early from the World Cup after flopping for Argentina, he will have a ubiquitous presence in Russia and around the world as the face of dozens of brand marketing campaigns.
For while sporting success in a single tournament is a matter of contrasting luck and split seconds — Messi striking a penalty at the Iceland goalkeeper, archrival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal burying one in the Spanish net — results in Russia will do little to damage Messi’s brand value, nor perhaps much to enhance the global standing of Ronaldo’s “CR7”.
“Messi’s brand won’t be badly affected by that performance as his tra ck record is otherwise consistently excellent,” said Allyson Stewart-Allen, chief executive of International Marketing Partners in London, after Messi’s second poor showing, in a 3-0 loss to Croatia, left Argentina facing an early exit.
“Messi is one game-changing performance away from reminding the world why he is still one of the most sought-after brand ambassadors on the planet,” said Andy Sutherden, the global head of sports and partnership marketing at Hill and Knowlton Strategies in London.
The World Cup was just “a short-term blip”, he said.