Main Image: Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo during the UEFA Super Cup Final match between Real Madrid and Manchester United at Philip II Arena in Skopje
There are 15 minutes to go. The ball speeds across the penalty area. And Cristiano Ronaldo — arguably the best footballer of his generation who Juventus has just bought for €100m— fluffs his lines, misses his shot and loses the opportunity to score on his home debut for the Italian club.
Yet, among the crowd of 40,000 fans at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus — and the man who signed the cheque — stands to applaud. It helps that a teammate rifles the ball into the net after Ronaldo’s slip, but the real triumph, says Mr Agnelli, was luring the Portuguese striker to the club in the first place.
“It was the first time that the commercial side and the sporting side of Juventus came together in assessing the costs and benefits [of a signing],” says Mr Agnelli, a scion of the billionaire family that has owned the club for 95 years. “The opportunity of Ronaldo was thoroughly assessed . . . and it made sense, both on and off the pitch.”
On the pitch the team does not need Ronaldo to dominate Italian football. Juventus, the country’s most successful club, has won seven consecutive Serie A league titles. It has, however, fallen short in recent seasons of the Champions League, losing twice in the final of Europe’s most prestigious tournament in the past four years. Ronaldo, in contrast, has won the last three Champions League finals with Real Madrid.
Off the pitch, Juventus believes the player presents an unparalleled financial opportunity, described by executives as “the Ronaldo effect”.
The Turin club is looking to invert the business model that has prevailed in football for decades. Elite clubs rely on large crowds and lucrative broadcasting deals to convince sponsors to pay to be associated with their teams. Under the new model, the global celebrity of Ronaldo is expected to drag fans and corporate groups to Juventus, with higher broadcasting money to follow.
There are early signs the bet is paying off. While in secret talks to sign Ronaldo, Juventus increased average season ticket prices by 30 per cent. All 29,300 have been sold. On match day the Juventus stadium superstore is doing a brisk trade in Ronaldo replica shirts, costing up to €154.95 — among the highest prices in Europe. For his home debut, fans travelled from all over the world while television networks spent days trailing his arrival in Turin.
Investors seem to agree that the Ronaldo effect will provide exponential value to Juventus. The club’s share price has more than doubled, raising its market capitalisation to €1.5bn, since July.
“Ronaldo brings a level of stardust that is difficult to find in any sports person,” says Gareth Balch, co-founder of the digital sports marketing company Two Circles. “In the sponsorship buyer’s mind, there is a level of irrationality that exists in every human . . . which is that having Ronaldo elevates Juventus into a group of football clubs that it was not in before. If executed correctly, Juventus can really profit from its investment.”
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