Ronaldo in Italy: Does the Bundesliga also need a global superstar?

Cristiano Ronaldo is undisputedly one of the two best footballers of his generation along with Lionel Messi. His move to Juventus Turin could herald a new era for the Italian Serie A. Juventus Turin was able to sell half a million Ronaldo jerseys in the first three days after the transfer. The sales figures shows the enormous influence of the most famous athlete on our planet. Thanks to Ronaldo, will Serie A pass the Bundesliga even in the long term?

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Cristiano Ronaldo sets superlatives - on and off the pitch. CR7 is the top scorer of all UEFA club competitions (123 goals) and was the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League seven times. He’s also won the Ballon d'Or five times. During his time at Real Madrid, the Portuguese superstar scored 450 goals in 438 games. He led his national team to win the European Championship in 2016, Portugal’s first ever international title.

Italy hopes for the Ronaldo effect

According to Forbes, Ronaldo's net income for the 2017/18 season was around 92 million euros. He is not just a footballer, but a one-man-company capable of generating more revenue each week than many of the clubs he plays against. On the one hand, Ronaldo earns money through his sponsors like Nike, Electronic Arts and Herbalife; on the other hand, he earns money through his own brand "CR7". Ronaldo sells his own fragrances, clothes, shoes, and underwear; he owns hotels and even his own museum. With 332 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, in terms of social media he is the most influential person on the planet. Ronaldo not only sets superlatives, he is a superlative.

Through the Ronaldo transfer, Juventus has achieved a major coup, regardless whether the transfer can be re-financed at all. After years of stagnation, where Serie A lost reputation, money, and ground to the other four major European football leagues, light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. The transfer of the most famous footballer in the world should guide the Italian club football back to the top of Europe, where it was at the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s. But, could a re-strengthening of Serie A mean that the Bundesliga is losing ground in the fight for spectators in international comparison?

Superstars will lose relevance

The Bundesliga is now the only top European league without a global superstar. Spain retains Messi, the Who's Who of the industry is raging in England, France has none other than Neymar, Italy now has Ronaldo - and Germany? The Bundesliga certainly has big names like Manuel Neuer, James Rodriguez, and Robert Lewandowski. However, it would be presumptuous to mention them in the same breath as Ronaldo, Messi, or Neymar.

Regardless, the Bundesliga should not be afraid. For years, Serie A has struggled with ailing stadiums, shrinking viewer numbers, and migrating stars. The Bundesliga is much better positioned in all three respects, Ronaldo alone should not change that. A look at the results of the SPOAC Sports Business Study 2018, published at the Center for Sports and Management in January 2018, confirms this assessment. Our research shows, among other things, that the relevance of superstars for the marketing of clubs - despite their enormous popularity today - will decrease. In a representative survey, we focused on the so-called "Generation Z", the group of people born in this millennium. We could not confirm paradigms that still apply in the industry today, namely that superstars are a main driver for young people’s interest in sports. In times of social media influencers with extremely high numbers of followers on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, and Snapchat, the boundaries blur between sports stars, everyday heroes, and people who don't even know why they have achieved a high level of prominence. Thanks to social media, anyone can become a star, even if only for a short time. Our results clearly show that superstars are no longer of comparable importance for Generation Z, unlike their predecessors. Even the superstar effect Juventus is currently experiencing in all relevant sales categories will decrease in the coming years.

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The football industry needs to rethink

In the short term, however, Ronaldo will stimulate the Italian league economically, as Generation Z is not yet one of the high-paying target groups in professional football. This will change over time, of course. Clubs, leagues, and associations should then consider how they want to approach their fans in the future. A superstar transfer alone won't be enough.