Messi Gets Busy In Asia’s Sponsorship Market 

Ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi has been busy scoring personal endorsement deals with Asian brands.

After striking a deal with Singapore based cryptocurrency platform Bitget, the 35-year-old Argentine football star has become the global brand ambassador of Byju’s social impact arm, Education For All

With the earlier deal, Bitget believes deal will give Messi fans the opportunity to explore Web 3.0 and the potential of trading crypto.

The collaboration also includes a shared understanding allowing both parties to commit to more impactful efforts extending beyond crypto and football, though no further details were given. 

As for Bitget, it adds to the sponsorship deals it has with the likes of Serie A’s Juventus and esports outfit Team Spirit. 

The partnership comes in at a time when crypto deals in the sports sponsorship industry are in scrutiny after a string of failed high-profile partnerships. As greater regulation comes to the crypto market, it will help cement the real players from the pack.  

On the other hand, Byju’s  Messi deal sees the Indian ed-tech giant deepen its reach in the football sponsorship industry. Earlier this year, it became an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. As for Messi, he will promote the cause of equitable education with Byju, a social cause close to the heart of the Argentine footballer.

However, certain local media outlets and netizens have been critical of the deal as India’s biggest ed-tech company has recently laid off 2,500 employees, about 5% of its workforce, citing macroeconomic measures. 

According to ASN data, Byju is the 2^nd largest investor for its category (14.8%, ~US$154m) since Q120 and spends for Q422 has almost doubled from the ed-tech’s quarterly average of US$12.9mto US$24.8m. This has been largely buttressed by its major deals with the 2022 FIFA World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup and Team India (Cricket) shirt sponsorship.