Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo will serve as brand ambassador for luxury tableware brand Vista Alegre as it courts the Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
The footballer acquired a 10-percent stake in the parent company, Vista Alegre Atlantis, from Grupo Visabeira and agreed to buy a 30-percent stake of Vista Alegre Spain through his company CR7, named for his initials and shirt number. Both parties agreed to create a 50:50 joint venture to promote the Vista Alegre brand and renowned Portuguese ceramics brand Bordallo Pinheiro in Asia and the Middle East.
Ronaldo, who recently appeared in the European Championships playing for his national team, now plays club soccer in Saudi Arabia for Al Nassr. His move to the club in 2023 has only served to enhance his popularity in the region, where he is already considered the player of the century.
[See more: Portuguese wine exports to China show a major spike]
Luxury porcelain manufacturer Vista Alegre built its reputation over the last two centuries, opening in 1824 and quickly attaining the title of Royal Factory. A merger with the Atlantis group in 2001 gave the company its current name – and made it the sixth-largest porcelain tableware group in the world. Grupo Visabeira acquired it in 2009.
Bordallo Pinheiro traces a similarly long history of excellence and luxury, founded by famed Portuguese artists Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro in 1884. The two brands came together last year to create a joint collection of porcelain, crystal and earthenware pieces.
Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro are only the latest Portuguese brands to benefit from partnership with Ronaldo. The 39-year-old has spent years investing his considerable fortune into a range of businesses as he prepares for a life after football. In 2015, for example, Ronaldo and Portuguese hotel operator Grupo Pestana announced a 75-million-euro investment in four boutique hotels across Portugal, Spain and the US. It was his largest investment at the time.
