The careers of elite athletes are short. They last longer and longer, thanks to preparation and strict control of their circumstances, but even in long-lived cases, 40 years marks an exit limit. To avoid a ‘shock’ after withdrawal, some athletes manage to transfer their success on the playing fields to the business sector. They take advantage of the power of their brands to gain gateways to the business world. Cristiano Ronaldothe sisters Serena y Venus Williams o Gerard Piqué These are some success stories.
These athletes serve as an example for a majority who still do not know what to do with their lives after the competition. According to a study published by ‘Sports Illustrated’, 80% of big stars end up having financial problems. The footballer Paul Gascoigne, the tennis player Boris Becker or the boxer Mike Tyson are examples of this. So that these situations are not a common outcome, advice and plans have been created that accompany the athlete’s transition to civilian life.
CR7, a brand for everything
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the athletes who has best taken advantage of his brand value while he is still active. His career is about to end after a long sequence of success behind him. When the Portuguese signed for Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia in December 2022, there was talk of a transfer that could affect his different lines of business. On the contrary, these have not stopped growing and His personal branding is such that it has served to globalize the league of the Middle Eastern countrysomething unthinkable without his figure.
Cristiano has opted for business diversification. He has a chain of gyms in Spain and Portugal called CR7 Fitness by Crunch; he founded the Insparya Hair Company Group hair implants; has an underwear line (CR7 Underwear); a bedding brand CR7 Blankets; has launched cosmetics; owns the hotel chain CR7 Pestana; has just invested in the development of a soccer video game; and he is going to build a colossal padel complex in Portugal. Different branches of a tree that is his brand ‘CR7’ that he has grown in the field.
Ronaldo, in this case Nazario, is another example of a football star transferring to the company. In 2010 the Brazilian founded Marketing 9inea company linked to the management of athletes’ careers, as well as the consulting firm Tara Sports y R9 Asset and Financial Managementa holding company from which such diverse projects have derived, ranging from a physiotherapy center to a nightclub.
Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, and Ronaldo Nazario, of Real Valladolid, in a League match. / EFE
‘O phenomenon’ of Real Valladolid
In 2018, ‘O Fenómeno’ acquired the majority shareholding of Real Valladolid. Four years earlier it acquired 25% of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a team from the North American Soccer League in the USA. In 2022 he formed a contract to become the owner of 90% of Cruzeiro, one of the teams in which he played, taking advantage of its unprecedented relegation to the second division. Likewise, the former player directs the Ronaldo Academy, which recruits young talents through its 25 locations around the world.
David Beckham, Ronaldo’s former teammate at Real Madrid’s ‘Galacticos’, was one of the first to understand the business value of a soccer player’s personal brand. In 2007 he signed an unexpected contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy of the American Major League Soccer (MLS). The important thing was not so much the remuneration as that this operation opened the possibility of buying a franchise. Now he owns Inter Miami with Messi, Suárez, Busquets and Jordi Albathe fastest growing club in the MLS.
footballers like Andres Iniesta They chose to invest in their land, relying on their strengths. The man from Albacete established at the end of 2009 Iniesta SL Winery, a business adventure that has not yet managed to make profitable, but in which it has just reinforced its investment. The initiative of the former German international has been more successful Lucas Podolskiwho in 2018 founded the chain Barbecue Doner specialized in kebabs, a dish that he fell in love with after his stay at the Turkish Galatasaray.
Kosmos, Piqué’s holding company
The case of Gerard Piqué is one of the most extraordinary in the emergence of an athlete into the business world. In 2017, when he was still an active player for FC Barcelona, created Kosmos with the financial backing of Hiroshi Mikitani, founder and CEO of Rakuten, a Barça business partner at that time. Kosmos has since acted as a holding company from which lucrative deals such as the Davis cupuntil the International Tennis Federation refused to renegotiate the exploitation contract.
Kosmos is the owner of Second Division FC Andorra and responsible for the Kings League, the 7-a-side football competition that has expanded throughout the world. One of the great commercial and personal allies has been Ibai Llanos. Together, in addition to the Kings League, they have created The Evening of the Year, an amateur boxing event in which streamers participate and which this year will be held at the Bernabéu.
In 2021, both partners signed the KOI eSports club. Piqué also participated in the agreement that allowed the change of format of the Spanish Super Cup and its transfer to Saudi Arabia. This earned him an investigation for his role as a commission agent. In addition, The Barcelona player has involved former teammates such as Kun Agüero in his projects, which participates in the Kings League formats; or Antoine Griezmann, for whom he recorded the documentary ‘The Decision’. Together they invested in the fantasy football company Sorare.
Gerard Pique, president of Kosmos, with the Kings League trophy. / / ENRIC FONTCUBERTA
The businesses of Serena and Venus Williams
If there is a successful model that connects stars with companies, it is American sports. The sisters Serena y Venus Williams They constitute a disruptive phenomenon for female athletes. Tennis played by women has always been several steps ahead in terms of equality. The prizes awarded are proof of this. Serena created the venture capital firm Serena Venturesthrough which he has acted as a ‘business angel’ for ‘start-ups’.
The little Williams has her own clothing brand called ‘S by Serena’which has a sustainable approach, as well as a jewelry line: Serena Williams Jewelry. He holds a position on the board of directors of SurveyMonkey, a platform specialized in creating online surveys. She along with her sister Venus de ella became the first African-American women to become shareholders of an NFL team, the Miami Dolphins.
Venus has gone one step further by purchasing a stake in the Angel City, women’s soccer team of the National Women’s Soccer League in which other celebrities participate such as Natalie Portman. The eldest Williams created two decades ago V Starran interior design company and also owns her activewear line, EleVen.
Rafa Nadal, Tiger Woods y Tony Hawk
One of his teammates on the men’s circuit, the Spanish Rafael Nadal, has been preparing his retirement for some time, although he has insisted on delaying it as much as possible. The jewel in the crown of the best national tennis player is the Rafael Academy. In 2013 he entered the hotel sector and is a partner in Tatel restaurants, along with Pau Gasol Cristiano Ronaldo. He has a range of fragrances with his wife Mery Perelló and has just presented a joint venture of food supplements with Cantabria Labs, the pharmaceutical company for which he has been an ambassador since 2019.
In basketball, Michael Jordan marked a before and after with his ‘Air Jordan’; Before his unfortunate death, Kobe Bryant had created Bryant-Stibel, a fund to invest in technology companies, where Magic Johnson has also made several inroads. For his part, the former Lakers player Shaquille O’Neal He bought 155 Five Guys hamburger restaurants, 17 Auntie Anne’s restaurants, 150 car washes and even a movie theater.
Figures such as Tiger Woods o Tony Hawk, who, from sports such as golf and skateboarding, managed to build authentic empires around their personal brands. Woods owns a company dedicated to golf course design (TGR Design), a live event production company (TGR Live), as well as a restaurant -The Woods-. For years he was the protagonist and gave name to the PGA Tour video game.
Tony Hawk developed a saga of titles around his figure. The most notable skater in history went from living on a couple of dollars a day to having a net worth of 140 million. They are all examples of success, to a greater or lesser degree, of athletes who time their retirement to avoid the yo-yo effect of an industry that is an expert in creating idols with the same speed that sends them to oblivion.
2024-03-18 15:59:37
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