How Cristiano Ronaldo’s return will impact Manchester United brand

Manchester United stunned the football world last Friday as they announced the return for one of its most celebrated players Cristiano Ronaldo beating rivals Manchester City to his signature.

Manchester United have started reaping the dividend of bringing back star man Ronaldo from Juventus, 12 years after he left Old Trafford.

Ronaldo gave a goodbye message to Juventus fans on his Instagram: “Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe.

“I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days.

“The bianconeri’ always respected me and I tried to thank that respect by fighting for them in every game, every season, every competition.

“In the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.

Read Also: How Alex Ferguson influenced Ronaldo’s decision to rejoin Man United

United handed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner a two-year contract at the Theatre of Dreams.

No doubt to say that Ronaldo is a global brand and his sensational move to Man Utd has started creating positive effects in the world of football and business.

At 36, Cristiano Ronaldo would solve several problems for Manchester United.

Here is how Cristiano Ronaldo’s return will impact the Manchester United brand.

Increase in club valuation

Following the announcement on Friday that Ronaldo is back to Old Trafford; Man United’s stock market value went up by £212million after Cristiano Ronaldo’s comeback.

The news took the share price of Manchester United soaring by 9.8 percent at one point before it fell back slightly.

While the share price opened the day at £12.62 the news of the striker’s transfer spiked it at $19.09, (£13.87) meaning the club’s market value rose by £212m.

The rise in the club’s value comes as no surprise as shares of the Italian football side also rocketed by 30 percent when the Portuguese player joined the team back in 2018.

Read Also: Ronaldo snubs Man City to join Manchester United

Ronaldo’s transfer to Juventus made the Italian club revenue spike by earning €58 million extra revenue in the 2018/19 season, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

His presence also helped Juventus sell 1.3 million shirts; the 10th most in the world during the 2018/19 financial year.

Ronaldo’s 100 million euro signing by Juventus took the shares to soar about 150 per cent in the first year.

Social media visibility

Ronaldo also brings a different type of star quality. He is among the world’s most tracked personalities on social media.

In February 2021, Ronaldo became the most followed across social media networks breaking 500 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

His CR7 brand has flourished and spawned many lucrative major sponsors, whether it be football boots or tracksuits. The CR7 brand has also been used to sell underwear, hotels, gyms, nutritional supplements and cologne. It has been a major money-spinner.

In June, Ronaldo’s gesture for people to drink water instead of Coca-Cola at a Euro 2020 press conference wiped $4 billion off the company’s market value.

Coca-Cola shares dropped from $56.17 to $55.22 after Ronaldo moved two Coke bottles out of view and picked up a bottle of water before Portugal’s match against Hungary on Tuesday.

Market value for the company dropped from $242 billion to $238 billion – a $4 billion plunge.

“Agua!” the soccer superstar exclaimed. Agua means water in Portuguese.

Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram reflecting about his departure from Juventus, saying, “in the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.” His return to Old Trafford comes roughly 12 years after he left the team to play for Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.

Title(s) Push

The signing of Ronaldo at 36 will be a massive boost to United and adds so much firepower up front.

As a competitive player, Ronaldo will do everything to win trophies. He came to United to win trophies for the Red Devils.

Mikael Silvestre, an Ex-Manchester United player says it’s time for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win the Premier League title after securing the return of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I was confident anyway to be honest, because of what he achieved last season, and with Cristiano joining it’s another reason to be more confident.

“We have a Ballon d’Or winner in the squad now, and it will be amazing.

“In terms of winning trophies, everybody should be happy that Ronaldo has come back.

But admits the pressure is now on Solskjaer to deliver with Ronaldo now set to help the Norwegian end the club’s nine-year wait for the English crown.

“I was extremely happy to hear the news, it’s amazing for the fans and the club and,” Silvestre told talkSPORT.

Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain, Italy, and the European Championship for Portugal.

He scored 118 goals in 292 games in his first spell at the club is likely to contribute to the clubs’ performance this season across the various competitions his club will be competing for and deliver a world-class performance.