PSG Just Signed the 🐐...It's not Messi
+ Ben Affleck to direct Nike movie, Pep Guardiola teams up with Harry Kane and The Lion King invades the FA Cup!
When we heard that PSG is now being sponsored by GOAT we instantly thought…
Wow, Roger Federer is sponsoring a football club?!
The reality is a little less exciting…PSG has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the online luxury apparel platform GOAT.
As a part of the €50 million deal, GOAT will have their brand name printed on the sleeves of training, warm-up, and matchday jerseys.
While this may just seem like a simple sponsorship deal - that comes with the added bonus of Messi wearing the GOAT moniker while playing - it is in fact an interesting deal…
GOAT is an online platform that sells new and used (vintage) clothing and accessories. The site already has 30 million members across the globe and obviously plans to increase sales through its association with Messi and co.
But this deal goes a lot deeper. In fact, PSG will receive a dedicated space on GOAT’s e-commerce site and the two brands are said to be looking at the possibility of creating exclusive PSG merchandise and apparel for the platform.
We have already made an entire video about how PSG has used collaborations with the likes of Michael Jordan and Paris Fashion Week to build a large brand outside of football and positioned itself as ‘the most fashionable football club.’
This deal seems to be following that same strategy.
Football is becoming increasingly popular in fashion. Gucci just signed a deal with Jack Grealish and retro shirts are selling for incredible premiums. PSG is currently the only club that is allowed to sell products on GOAT and will use this opportunity to create fashionable PSG-related products that will enhance the club’s identity as a fashion brand and open them up to new audiences.
This quid pro quo attitude was seemingly confirmed by the GOAT CEO Eddy Lu:
"We bring together two great lifestyle brands to unite and mobilize communities of athletes, creatives, and fans around the world. This partnership plays to each other's strengths, with innovative collaborations in the months and years to come."
🗞 Story of the Week
Amazon Announces Movie about Nike 👟
Yes, that’s right, the sports business is going to Hollywood!
The film, which is currently untitled, is set to be directed by Ben Affleck, who is probably hoping to bounce back after being replaced as Batman by a British vampire.
Affleck is also set to play Nike founder Phil Knight and has brought long-time collaborator and close friend Matt Damon on to play the main role.
According to Deadline, the film will ‘tell the incredible story of how Sonny Vaccaro (Damon), a maverick sneaker salesman, led a fledgling running shoe company called Nike in its pursuit of the most transformative athlete in the history of sports: Michael Jordan.’
Viewers should expect to meet a number of interesting characters in this film, with the story focusing on how Vaccaro convinced Jordan’s former coaches, advisors, and close friends to give him an audience with the great man.
The story of Nike and Michael Jordan was already powerful long before it received the Hollywood treatment. The original Air Jordan sneaker was first released in the 1980s and the collaboration helped Nike become the largest apparel brand on the planet. The Air Jordan shoe has since reached cult status and the brand itself is worth around $3 Billion.
Assuming everything goes smoothly, the film is set to be released via Prime video after Amazon purchased the rights alongside Skydance Sports and Mandalay Pictures.
With the script having already received recognition at the Sundance Film Festival, Amazon probably had to fight quite hard against other studios to secure the rights.
After the victory, they probably had one simple response for the rival studios…
“How do you like them apples!”
🤪 Weird Deal of the Week
Pep Guardiola and Harry Kane Join Golf Tournament ⛳️
Last Summer, there was only one thing Pep Guardiola wanted in life…Harry Kane.
Manchester City’s pursuit of the Tottenham striker was so strong that many believe it was the main reason behind his dramatic drop in form during the early stages of this season.
While City never got their man, and have since moved on to Erling Haaland, Pep will get another opportunity to play with Kane.
Both Guardiola and Kane have signed up to compete together in an international golf tournament due to be hosted at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey USA from June 30th-July 1st this year.
This event will include a series of 10-hole matches between two teams of 12 celebrity athletes. Team USA will be captained by golf legend Fred Couples and will include non-golfing athletes such as Michael Phelps and Oscar De La Hoya.
Team ‘Rest of the World,’ which will be captained by golf hall of Famer Ernie Els, can already count the likes of Guardiola, Kane, and Ash Barty among their number.
Other legends from the NBA, NHL, and international sports are set to be announced in the coming months.
While this may seem like a simple publicity stunt, the organisers want you to take it seriously.
“It’s going to be something that’s competitive, serious to a degree, and a lot of fun, but we wanted to take athletes out of their normal environments and try to humanize them by exposing their skillsets in their second chosen sport,” explained Icons Series CEO Thomas Brookes in an interview. “So, really it’s getting to understand how they deal with a different kind of pressure when it’s not something that comes as naturally as perhaps their chosen sport does.”
📱 Social Media Madness of the Week
FA Cup Semi-Final Interrupted by The Lion King 🦁
The market for live football is extremely competitive. Traditional broadcasters like Sky and ESPN are not only facing strong competition from streaming platforms like Amazon but are also struggling to keep the attention of younger fans who often prefer to watch highlights.
British broadcaster ITV, which is also struggling to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of live football, has decided to trial a revolutionary new method for engaging its audience.
Moments after Ruben Loftus Cheek scored the opening goal for Chelsea in last week's FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace, ITV decided to cut to a random clip from the 1994 Disney classic ‘The Lion King.’
This test run was such a massive success that ITV plan on interrupting all major events from now on with random clips from beloved children’s movies. The next U.S. presidential inauguration is set to be randomly interrupted by scenes from the 2014 film Paddington while all of the goals at this year’s World Cup will be followed by a montage of Disney characters spontaneously bursting into song.
Obviously, we are aware that the Lion King interrupting the FA Cup was in reality a huge mistake from ITV.
The broadcaster was quick to acknowledge the mistake and released a statement shortly after the game:
'We apologise for the very brief transmission issue experienced by viewers watching ITV HD on Freeview in part of the country. The issue was due to technical systems outside of ITV's immediate control, other broadcasters were also affected. The issue was quickly resolved.'
As with any public screw-up, Twitter users were quick to take the mickey (mouse.)
If ITV is still embarrassed by this mishap, there is a powerful quote from the Lion King that fits perfectly:
"I'm Surrounded By Idiots." - Scar 1994
Sorry…wrong quote:
"The Past Can Hurt. But From The Way I See It, You Can Either Run From It Or Learn From It.” - Rafiki 1994.
🎬 Video of the Week
Why is Chelsea Worth more than Man Utd? 🔵
Conor McGregor, Lewis Hamilton, and Serena Williams, everyone seems to want a piece of Chelsea FC.
But did you know that Chelsea’s value has increased by almost £3 million per week under Abramovich? The club’s value has risen above £2.5 billion and they are technically worth more than Manchester United.
But ask any accountant and they would be confused. According to most metrics, Chelsea is not worth more than £2 billion.
Why are these investors overpaying for Chelsea? Watch this week’s video to find out!