Cristiano Ronaldo Just Became AI’s Newest Superstar With Perplexity Tie-Up — But His Recent Brand Deals Have Been A PR Minefield

• Perplexity has signed a brand deal with Ronaldo, as part of which the soccer star has picked up an undisclosed stake in the AI company.
• The latest brand deal comes after a string of controversial tie-ups for Ronaldo, though at a time when he is in his strongest financial position.
• It’s also a first for the AI industry, which has so far avoided celebrity ambassadors.

Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo is now the face of Perplexity, in the first such endorsement deal for a top AI company. Ronaldo, one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, with long-standing brand deals with Nike and Armani and a bouquet of side businesses, has also picked up a stake in the AI answer tool.

Perplexity announced the partnership on Thursday, along with the launch of an interactive webpage featuring rare images of the footballer, curated questions, and an animated retelling of his famous goals.

“The quest for excellence means never settling for good enough,” Perplexity said in its blog post. “Ronaldo’s approach to life mirrors Perplexity’s philosophy that every achievement, every answer, is a starting point for the next question,” the blog read, adding that he is an active user of Perplexity. Ronaldo said he’s “proud” of the collaboration in an X post.

The development, while a fresh one for the AI industry dominated by OpenAI, Google, and Nvidia (they’ve never had celebrity ambassadors), follows a string of somewhat controversial brand collaborations for Ronaldo.

He partnered with crypto exchange Binance in 2022 and launched his signature line of NFTs — just as they were falling out of favor with consumers and Binance’s then-CEO was becoming embroiled in a major legal battle in the U.S. Ronaldo ultimately faced a class-action lawsuit there over his promotion of Binance, with plaintiffs claiming his endorsement prompted them to make loss-making investments and seeking damages “exceeding $1 billion.”

His deal with dietary supplements seller Herbalife, renewed in 2023, has also drawn criticism, as the company has faced complaints and regulatory fines related to its multi-level marketing business model. Last year, social media users criticised Ronaldo for promoting Herbalife products without explicitly stating that it’s a paid endorsement, and some of the company’s products have been reportedly linked to causing health issues.

That said, his influence over brands is quite unique. During a Euro 2020 press conference, he pushed aside a couple of Coca-Cola bottles (the event’s brand sponsors) and urged people to “drink water!” — which ended up shaving about $4 billion from Coke’s market capitalization.

Ronadlo’s Financial Muscle

Ronaldo’s Perplexity tie-up comes at a time when he’s arguably in the strongest financial position of his career. Ronaldo joined Riyadh-based club Al-Nassr in 2023 and renewed his contract this June for reportedly more than $400 million. In addition to his tax-free salary in the region, his contract also gives him a 15% stake in the club.

Born in the Portuguese Island city of Madeira, Ronaldo grew up in poverty and left school at 14 to pursue a career in professional football. He was spotted playing for Sporting Lisbon, a Portuguese club, and later had successful stints at iconic clubs such as Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Bloomberg reports that Ronaldo made over $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, plus $18 million annually from a decade-long partnership with Nike. Over the years, he has invested heavily in and partnered with businesses in his home country, and the Madeira airport is named after him.

Rolando is the most popular person on Instagram, with 660 million followers, and has a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: Fossil Was Left For Dead — Then Its Stock Doubled In Less Than 3 Weeks: What’s Behind The Revival?

Share

·

Add us on