Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, owner of Spanish club Valencia, has expanded into sports marketing by acquiring the image rights for football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, it was announced yesterday.
Mint Media, a Hong Kong-based firm owned by Lim, said in a statement the six-year contract with Ronaldo would help grow the Portuguese striker’s brand in Asia.
Under the deal, Mint Media "will own and administer all of Ronaldo's image rights" except for those relating to his club, Real Madrid.
Ronaldo, whose popularity has led to lucrative brand-endorsement deals, is ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world’s third-highest paid athlete in 2015 after boxers Floyd Mayweather of the United States and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines.
“Ronaldo is not just a great soccer player, he is also a very popular personality. I am confident that the Cristiano Ronaldo brand will continue to grow,” Lim said in a statement.
Ronaldo described Lim as “a good friend” and expressed his admiration for Lim’s business acumen.
“I believe he will be a good partner and good value add for my brand,” said Ronaldo, a three-time winner of the Fifa World Player of the Year award. “This is a very strategic move for me and my management team to take the Cristiano Ronaldo brand to the next level, especially in Asia.”
Ronaldo has a prominent presence in social media with more than 36 million followers on Twitter and 103 million fans on Facebook.
Lim, a former stockbroker, last year bought a controlling stake in the Primera Liga side Valencia. He is also a key investor in McLaren Automotive, a British manufacturer of high-performance cars.
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