The transfer window is open in Europe right now, with different club sides making additions to their squad in order to remain competitive and also attract business brand in terms of the players they sign.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid after 9 trophy laden years, the Spanish club has been quiet in the transfer market, but recently, Real Madrid, has intensified their efforts to replace the Portuguese goal machine.
After the Departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the top Executives of Spanish football, said, “Real Madrid and Spain will have to find a suitable replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo”. That statement was not made based on football reasons alone, but also as financial implications.
Real Madrid is a club known for signing top footballers, who are also very marketable- meaning, they don’t just sign players based on footballing abilities alone, but also image value, this will explain the signings of David Beckham, who made the switch to the Spanish capital in 2003.
The recent departure of Cristiano Ronaldo has left Real Madrid in a dire state, finding a player whose football ability is not in doubt, but also possess enormous image/ brand value is a very difficult task, even for a club as big as Madrid. In one word, Real Madrid is searching for a new “Poster boy” to maintain their status as the biggest club in the world.
In terms of footballing ability, there are only two players in the world that can try to fill the enormous boots of the Portuguese; PSG’s Neymar Jr, and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. Reports however indicated that Real Madrid will not pursue Neymar, rather they are willing to make a move on Eden Hazard with a record bid of £150 million.
There is no doubt that Hazard is a fantastic player, but the real question is, will he be able to attract top brands to Real Madrid? Just as Cristiano Ronaldo could do.
First and foremost, Cristiano Ronaldo has major social influence, he is the most popular sport personality in the world on Instagram, with 138 million followers, while Hazard has a mere 15.8 million followers.
Cristiano Ronaldo has so many endorsement deal with top brands in the world which includes, footwear makers Nike, with whom he signed a lifetime deal with. When he changed cities, he took a large amount of his followers to Juventus, reducing Real Madrid’s social presence which in turn, can reduce Real Madrid ability to attract top brands to the club
Obviously, Real Madrid will want to bring a player with enormous clout, who can attract not only football lovers to their stadium but also big corporation, a player who has influence and can be marketed. Is Eden Hazard the player? Hmm maybe, but will Real Madrid want to gamble with that, remember, last season, former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said that after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard is his best player and he would like to see him play for Real Madrid.
The English transfer window will be shut in few days, Real Madrid will have to amplify its efforts if they want to bring the Belgian Super star to the Santiago Bernabeu and make him the new Galactico