Cristiano Ronaldo following in the fashion footsteps of David Beckham

By | April 24, 2016

David Beckham was the first football star to utilize his stardom to develop a brand off the field. Beckham used the football platform to evolve himself into a fashion mogul. Whether it was Beckham’s new hair style every other month, or his extremely attractive supermodel wife Victoria Spice, Beckham put himself into the social spotlight. David Beckham grew his brand to include advertisement deals, magazine covers, and modeling shoots. He became the first football sex symbol of our time. David Beckham’s underwear ads for Emporio Armani became famous, as Tommy Hilfiger even named him the Number 1 underwear model of the century. 

Source: Courtesy of Emporio Armani

As Beckham has aged and his football career has come to a close, a new stud has emerged as the next football sex symbol. Cristiano Ronaldo has followed in the footsteps of David Beckham to create his own fashion brand. It is also interesting to note that Ronaldo played at Manchester United and then at Real Madrid, identical to the path of Beckham. Cristiano Ronaldo has become one of the best football players in the world, but also one of the sexiest men alive. Ronaldo is most well known for his underwear modeling, originally starting just like Beckham with Emporio Armani. His own clothing line CR7 then launched as an underwear brand before morphing into other clothing. Additionally, Ronaldo has used every part of his body and brand to make himself a multi-million dollar empire and appear on a wide array of advertisements and magazines. The scary part is that Ronaldo is still one of the best players in the football world and will continue to grow his brand for many years to come.

Source: Courtesy of Emporio Armani

 

 

Sources:

“Cristiano Ronaldo – From Football to Fashion – Men Style Fashion.” Men Style Fashion. N.p., 30 July 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://www.menstylefashion.com/cristiano-ronaldo-from-football-to-fashion/

“From Football to Fashion: 5 Star Icons.” The Fashionisto. N.p., 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://www.thefashionisto.com/football-fashion-athlete-icons/

“David Beckham — The #1 Underwear Model of the Century … Says Tommy Hilfiger.” Http://www.tmz.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://www.tmz.com/2014/03/10/tommy-hilfiger-david-beckham-underwear-model-of-the-century/

 

 

3 thoughts on “Cristiano Ronaldo following in the fashion footsteps of David Beckham

  1. Austin Tran

    The fact that Ronaldo is following virtually the same path as David Beckham is a great example of how athletes can turn into pop culture icons if they have the right combination of success and sexiness. Ronaldo may actually have surpassed Beckham because he has performed at a higher level than Beckham, therefore gaining popularity in the soccer world, and has benefited from a rise in global media and marketing that has increased his popularity for virtually everyone. For example, Ronaldo made headlines over buying an island for his agent and this type of publicity has done wonders for expanding his image beyond the sport because it is an act that is relatable to everyone, not just soccer fans. What would be an interesting thing to observe about Ronaldo expanding his brand past soccer is to see if it has any effect at all on increasing the popularity of soccer in regions that are impacted by his aesthetic qualities. In this way, could superstar athletes expanding their brand beyond the soccer world expand soccer’s reach and influence as well?

    Reply
  2. Benjamin Jackson

    Great Post! I would agree Ronaldo’s stardom has followed a similar path as Beckham’s but I would argue Ronaldo has surpassed Beckham. Ronaldo has grown up in a world where the market ability of athletes is at a level never before reached and he is taking full advantage. Ronaldo has sponsorship deals with everyone from Nike, Armani and Coca-Cola to KFC and has recently endorsed a Japanese Facial fitness tool called Pao. (Google Ronaldo’s Pao ad it’s a true treat.) His ability to be an icon in not just Europe and the Americas but also Asia is just one reason I see him as surpassing Beckham. My second reason is his play on the pitch. David Beckham was an amazing soccer player and in his prime was one of the best in the world, but the fact is Ronaldo is better. Ronaldo has 3 times as many international goals scored in only 10 more matches and 246 more goals scored in 68 fewer matches in club play. And though many will say Beckham played along side many other stars while at Manchester United and England and therefore never got to be the main goal scoring threat, Ronaldo has had the same. Real Madrid is stocked with talent at every position and Ronaldo still finds the back of the net at a ridiculous rate. All in all, I believe David Beckham did pave the way in terms of soccer stars turning into celebrities, but Ronaldo has surpassed Beckham in both regards.

    Reply
  3. Lopa Rahman

    Hi Nick,

    I think your analysis of Ronaldo’s brand is spot-on. Like Beckham, he has truly become a household name. I don’t personally watch soccer, but Ronaldo’s name is one of the few I recognize, and this is due to the fact that he is an icon both on and off the field.

    Something I thought about when reading your post was how the companies Beckham and Ronaldo sign deals with benefit from the magnitude of these players’ personal brands. Ronaldo is just the third celebrity to have more than 200 million followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2016/04/14/the-rising-branding-star-that-is-cristiano-ronaldo/#62e56c7a32a1–great read on Ronaldo’s brand). Ronaldo’s huge following is certainly a boon to companies’ marketing efforts, which makes partnering with him an appealing option for companies that a. have the capital to do so and b. sell products that align with Ronaldo’s personal brand.

    -Lo

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *