TAG Heuer has signed up football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for a long-term partnership as a brand ambassador.
Real Madrid forward and captain of the Portugal team for this year’s World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo joins an illustrious roster of TAG Heuer sports stars and celebrities that currently includes film actors Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio, WTA tennis champion Maria Sharapova and Formula One world champion Jenson Button.
Past ambassadors have included actors Brad Pitt and Uma Thurman, golfing great Tiger Woods, and Formula One drivers Ayrton Senna and Sebastian Vettel.
Speaking after the signing of his ambassadorship, Ronaldo said it was a great honour to be part of “a such powerful and pioneering legacy”.
“TAG Heuer is by far the best at what it does and has been for more than 150 years,” he said.
“It is incredibly glamorous yet also so unconventional, and we share exactly the same determination: to totally change the game, push the limits and make our own rules.”
Born on the island of Madeira in 1985, Cristiano Ronaldo first played professionally in his native Portugal before joining Manchester United in 2003, where he scored more than 100 goals in six years.
He became the most expensive footballer in history when he moved to Real Madrid in 2009, and his current contract makes him the highest-paid player in the world.
TAG Heuer CEO Stéphane Linder said that although the company has been “in the sports world” since signing on as official chronograph of the 1920 Olympic Games”, the signing of Ronaldo is the first time it has entered “the world of football”.
“Adding football alongside our longstanding link to motorsports, especially with its Number One icon and most powerful player, is incredibly exciting,” he said.