Cristiano Ronaldo has the potential to replace David Beckham as the footballer who earns the most money from endorsements following his world record 130-million dollar move to Real Madrid, experts say.
“There is certainly a vacancy for a football central brand right now,” said Simon Chadwick, professor of sport business strategy and marketing at Coventry University in England.
“Beckham, because of his age and the stage of his career, has lost it. And Ronaldo is ideally placed to assume the mantle of ‘brand Beckham’, especially among young kids and teenagers,” he told AFP.
Chadwick, who has studied what makes a strong sports player brand, said Ronaldo has many of the required qualities: he is highly skilled, has a good physique, plays at a successful team and has enjoyed “sustained” success.
The 24-year-old Portuguese winger has already appeared barechested in adverts for Pepe Jeans, as well as in campaigns for Nike, Coca-Cola, the video game FIFA Street 2 and Indonesian energy drink Extra Joss.
He earned 19.6 million dollars a year at Manchester United off the pitch from product 
endorsements, compared to 42.5 million dollars earned by the 34-year-old Beckham last year, according to British media reports.
With his move to Real, where he will play alongside other big-name new recruits like Kaka and Karim Benzema, Ronaldo is following in the footsteps of Beckham who also left Manchester United for a successful spell at Real.
“He is in a fantastic position. Both clubs are very good at marketing their brand and players and have a huge fan base,” said Jamie Wynne-Morgan, managing director of M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment.
“He needs to be careful not to be overexposed and make the right strategic decisions, not do lots of little deals,” added Wynne-Morgan, whose agency advised on a deal that saw Ronaldo sign up as a “global ambassador” for engine oil company Castrol earlier this year.
Ronaldo, the 2008 FIFA world player of the year, signed a six-year deal with Real worth 94 million euros and will reportedly be paid 13 million euros each season, making him the world’s most expensive player.
