Juventus is close to renewing its shirt sponsorship with vehicle manufacturer Jeep in a deal that would increase the Serie A football club’s revenue from €16m ($17.6m) to €50m per season, according to Italian sports news service Tuttosport.
Jeep’s current deal expires in 2021. The increase in value can be largely attributed to the club’s acquisition of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo in July last year, according to the report.
Ronaldo’s presence has given Juventus greater leverage in its sponsorship negotiations. In 2018, Juventus’s kit supplier adidas paid the club a bonus of €15m “with respect to the excellent performance of the commercial partnership and to the increased visibility of the Juventus brand”. The bonus is thought to be linked to increased shirt sales and publicity following the transfer.
In January 2019, adidas extended its official partner agreement with Juventus to 2027, in a deal worth $56.2m (€51m) a year.
Giorgio Ricci, Juventus’s chief revenue officer, said Ronaldo has given the club more heft in the Asian sponsorship market. Ricci told the Financial Times: “Having such a strong interest from the (Asian) region, even if we pay a bit in terms of audience against other top European clubs, means we are able to deliver and sell our commercial rights.”
In July this year, Juventus sealed a deal with Japanese video game developer Konami worth $16.5m (€15m) over three years. In August, it launched a Hong Kong branch to strengthen links in the Asia-Pacific region. The club has several global and regional partners in the region, including Chinese mineral water brand Ganten Water, Chinese tyre manufacturer Linglong, and China Merchants Bank.
Research by Italian consultancy StageUp and research company IPSOS has shown that the ‘Ronaldo effect’, following the player’s move from Real Madrid, had compensated for a loss of interest in the league due to the predictability of the outcome – in 2018-19 Juventus won its eighth consecutive title. Separately, the proportion of Italian football fans who said they follow Juventus has risen from 32 cent in 2002 to 38 per cent in 2019.