TAG Heuer Signs Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo


Ronaldo with TAG Heuer watchTAG Heuer has announced the signing of a new celebrity “global ambassador” to a long-term partnership: Portuguese soccer champion Cristiano Ronaldo, currently the forward for Real Madrid and captain of Portugal’s national team in the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.

Ronaldo, a two-time winner of FIFA’s prestigious Ballon d’or award, joins an illustrious list of sports stars and entertainment celebrities that have partnered with TAG Heuer, a Swiss watch brand renowned for its sport-inspired chronograph watches. Previous TAG Heuer “ambassadors” have included actors Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio, tennis star Maria Sharapova, the 2013 America’s Cup-winning Oracle Team USA, numerous legendary drivers from Formula One racing, and, formerly, golf icon Tiger Woods.

Born on the island of Madeira, Ronaldo first played professionally in his native Portugal before joining Britain’s Manchester United in 2003, where he scored more than 100 goals in 6 years. He became the most highly paid soccer player (“footballer” to non-U.S. fans) in history when he moved to Spain’s Real Madrid in 2009, and remains the highest-paid player in the world. He is Portugal’s top goal scorer of all time and the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years. He scored an impressive 69 goals in 59 appearances in 2013, sealing his second Ballon d’or (soccer’s MVP award as voted on by coaches and captains of international teams and journalists) in January 2014.

“TAG Heuer is by far the best at what it does,” says Ronaldo in TAG Heuer’s official press release, “and has been for more than 150 years. No other luxury brand has such strong ties to the highest levels of sports. 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. It is a great honor to be a part of such a powerful and pioneering legacy.”

TAG Heuer CEO Stephane Linder adds, “Every TAG Heuer creation celebrates intense life in the contemporary arena, and no individual represents this more powerfully than Cristiano… Like TAG Heuer, Cristiano demands perfection and pushes himself harder than anyone in his domain. This is the first time we enter the world of football, and it’s a perfect fit to do that with Cristiano, opening a new trend and a new way to engage with our fans. Sports is part of our tradition because we share the same values: self motivation and discipline, pushing one’s limit, never giving up. We’ve been in the sports world since signing on as official chronograph of the 1920 Olympic Games. We started timing ski events in 1928, Formula One and regatta racing in the 1970s. Adding football alongside our longstanding link to motorsports, especially with its number one icon and most powerful player, is incredibly exciting.”

Cristiano Ronaldo new TAG Heuer ambassador

Cristiano Ronaldo wearing TAG Heuer watch
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