Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo and shaping the narrative
The 37 year-old star has been named the world's most marketable athlete but will leave Old Trafford in January if he can't be Erik ten Hag's hype man.
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Working in marketing and comms for a Premier League club (as I once did) is all about trying to shape the narrative and build positive sentiment around the club.
The fans are unhappy with results, style of play and think the manager is useless?
OK. Let’s focus on the young players, the club’s community work, the earnest, hard-working captain who is determined to turn things around or even that amazing 3-0 victory that happened on this day 10 years ago.
You absolutely can’t manipulate football fans, but you can placate, soothe and do your best to show that, while everything isn’t rosy right now, the club is doing good things off the pitch, the board appreciate its heritage and everyone is moving in the same direction towards a brighter future - or at least Europa League qualification.
In the UK, it is often the managers who are the focal point of the narrative. A new boss can impact the messaging around the club as much as the style of play on the pitch.
At Manchester United, shaping the narrative for the past decade - a period of staggering underachievement, huge expenditure and unfulfilled promises - has been one of the toughest gigs in the game.
With an estimated 1.1 billion fans, Manchester United exists in the world’s most heavily-scrutinised goldfish bowl, led by influential former players turned pundits such as Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand and a pack of experienced, well-connected journalists.
For publishers, Manchester United stories and transfer gossip get more clicks than content related to any other club, while broadcasters swiftly edit and chuck the latest rant from an ex-player on social media after another United defeat, happy in the knowledge that it will get millions of views.
An entire micro-economy has grown and fed off the discontent at Old Trafford in the last ten years, amid all those false dawns and a succession of managers who all filled a certain narrative but ultimately failed to deliver and left in disgrace amongst a litany of humiliating memes.
It gradually led to an identity crisis for a club with an enviable heritage and one that dominated the Premier League for two decades under Sir Alex Ferguson, with a very clear set of values and an identity carved in the image of the no-nonsense boss.
David Moyes was the chosen one. A Scot whom it was believed was cut from the same cloth as Sir Alex.
We all remember how that turned out.
Louis van Gaal was the classy European with pedigree and experience to command respect in a dressing room that had lost its way under Moyes.
It wasn’t long before he became a figure of ridicule.
Jose Mourinho was the win-at-all costs manager who would get the club back on track, while Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer was the cult hero, whose very presence brought nostalgic vibes of 1999. A relatable, likeable, earnest chap who would learn on the job but again, ultimately, fell short.
Each gaffer easily slipped into their archetypes and was often the antithesis of their predecessor, as the club lurched from one strategy to another, seemingly obsessed with trying to shape a narrative that was no longer in their hands.
But unquestionably, sentiment has changed lately.
A new manager in Erik ten Hag, has brought a sense that there is a clear game plan incorporating technically-gifted players, maximum effort, and cerebral tactics.
It’s just like Ajax - but without having to sell your best players every year.
Last week’s win against Tottenham at Old Trafford was regarded as one of the best of Ten Hag’s tenure so far, and should have set the club up for a few days of positive vibes and easy interviews.
But the narrative was derailed by a sulking superstar.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a staggering 700th career goal earlier this month, stole the headlines from Ten Hag after refusing to be substituted on in the final minutes and walking down the tunnel before the game had ended.
It immediately shifted the story, and back pages were dominated with pictures of the Portuguese attacker trudging off the pitch.
In just one year, Ronaldo has gone from being the signing that could bring the Premier League title back to Old Trafford to the club’s biggest headache.
But for Manchester United fans, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021 - gazumping those ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City, thanks to a late intervention by the club’s great Sage, Sir Alex - was a balm that soothed a weary, disillusioned fanbase.
At times last season, Old Trafford was a surreal sight with thousands of fans, smartphones up, cheering and Siuuu-ing and Viva-Ronaldo-ing this great of the game, despite the club continuing to stutter.
I often wince when I hear people repeat the myth that players are sometimes bought based on how many shirts they will sell.
Football, in reality, doesn’t work like that but unquestionably the marketability of Ronaldo played into his Old Trafford return, took the heat off the club’s unpopular owners and delighted many of their commercial partners, who swiftly utilised him across their various activations.
The sponsored content always involves at least four players, as per the standard rules of utilising players for club partnerships - but it’s almost always ‘CR7’ who claims the preview image for maximum traction.
A global partnership with the world’s most supported football club delivers huge reach, but you supercharge those campaigns when you add the world’s most marketable athlete to the mix.
That’s right. In the same week Ronaldo showed his disdain for Ten Hag, he was also named the world’s most marketable athlete in Sport’s Pro’s annual list ahead of icons such as Serena Williams, LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton and *whisper it* Lionel Messi.
Chris Collins, president of NorthStar Solutions Group, who devised a series of metrics to help SportsPro compile the list tells The Sports Marketeer: “Cristiano Ronaldo is going to capture headlines for pretty much anything he does or in some cases fails to do.”
“Superstars tend to get more latitude and are forgiven more quickly for perceived negative behaviour or perceived transgressions can tend to be drowned out by the overwhelming and long-term positive activities.
”In other cases, loyal fans will tend to side more with the athlete on controversial issues unless truly egregious.”
NorthStar’s analysis found that Ronaldo was comfortably on top across two of three major categories assessed: Audience & Reach (encompassing factors such as follower engagement and demographic reach, consumer perception and sentiment) and an Economics score, which assesses the market demand for the athlete, their proactive engagement with social or environmental issues, and growth potential.
In these two areas, Ronaldo is in a league of his own.
And therein lies the problem. As long as Ronaldo is at the club and discontented with the bit part role ascribed to him by Ten Hag, the very qualities that made his return a narrative-shifter, are now undermining everything the club is trying to achieve.
The world’s most marketable athlete is only an asset for your club if he is not working against your comms objectives.
Manchester United don’t need to talk about community work at the moment, or young players with potential or working hard to turn things around amid plunging ‘fan sentiment charts’.
Fans can see signs of improvement, so are generally on board with Ten Hag and what he is trying to do.
It helps when the manager’s most high profile signings, Casemiro, Antony and Lisandro Martinez are all performing well and swiftly becoming fan favourites.
We’ll have to wait and see if this proves to be yet another false dawn, but right now Ronaldo is on the wrong side of the narrative and should therefore get on board - or get out because the narrative always comes first.
The rise and rise of the cultural icon
It was a pleasure to join the SportsPro podcast this week to deconstruct the Most Marketable Athletes of 2022.
One of the trends we discussed was the rise in purpose-driven marketing and athletes as cultural icons, who transcend the natural audience base of their respective sports.
Superstars such as Serena Williams and Lewis Hamilton don’t just appeal to brands because of their GOAT status. It’s also down to their numerous interests outside their sports, their social activism and their appeal across passion points.
Give it a listen below and let me know your thoughts.
Recommended reading
Three pieces which I wholeheartedly recommend from this week.
1. This fascinating discussion between The Guardian’s Jonathan Liew and BBC cricket presenter Jonathan Agnew.
2. A great analysis on the Spotify X Drake X FC Barcelona activation, by my colleague at MKTG Sports + Entertainment, Andy Cahill.
3.This interview with Ronaldo ‘Il Fenomeno’ from Sid Lowe
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