Ronaldo exit threatens Portugal’s football brand, expert warns

The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal’s training camp could cost the Portuguese Football Federation hundreds of millions of euros and put major sponsorship agreements at risk, according to a leading sports branding expert.

Carlos Coelho, president of marketing consultancy Ivity Brand Corp, described the crisis as an “earthquake” for the federation after Ronaldo left on the eve of Portugal’s Nations League meeting with Denmark.

Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa on Thursday, in comments reported by Record, Coelho said the incident represented a major loss in value that could not be repaired by sporting results alone.

“The standing of the Portuguese Football Federation is declining significantly,” he said. “This unexpected event, which was managed extremely poorly, is a major setback in terms of the value involved and the loss it represents.”

Coelho said the national team’s sporting future was not under threat, insisting that Portugal would continue to play and could still win. However, he warned that the biggest damage would be commercial.

“Overnight, one of its biggest assets anywhere in the world has been lost,” he said. “Hundreds of millions of people around the world watch Portugal’s matches only because of Cristiano Ronaldo. They are not concerned with whether the team wins or loses.”

He added that football was “no longer just a sport, but a multi-billion-dollar industry”, meaning Ronaldo’s exclusion affected the federation’s financial foundations.

Coelho also raised concerns over the position of Portugal’s sponsors. “Imagine you are a sponsor who signed a contract expecting to associate your brand with these assets,” he said. “You would have legitimate grounds to say that the expectations have changed, request meetings and even cancel the agreements.”

He pointed to Al-Nassr’s trip to China as an example of Ronaldo’s commercial pull. When the Portugal forward was absent, attendance reportedly fell from 55,000 spectators to 5,000.

The expert said the Portugal national team had suffered a “very significant setback” in its international reach and criticised the way Ronaldo’s departure had been handled. He agreed with Sir Alex Ferguson’s view that the situation amounted to “value destruction” that could have been avoided.

“The greatest player in the history of Portuguese football must be treated with respect and care,” Coelho said. “At 41, he cannot be treated, either sporting-wise or in the media, as if he were 17. What happened is evidence of a lack of authority.”

His comments were a direct reference to manager Jorge Jesus.

Coelho said positive results would not be enough to restore Portugal’s international commercial appeal because results mattered mainly to Portuguese supporters. He called for a diplomatic solution that would recognise Ronaldo’s 20 years of service to the country, with a role within the national-team structure “not necessarily on the pitch, but certainly not on the bench”.

Meanwhile, Daniel Sa, executive director of the Portuguese Institute of Marketing Management (IPAM), described Ronaldo as “the biggest brand Portugal has ever known”. He urged the federation to create a transitional strategy to limit the loss of global visibility.

Ronaldo left the training camp on Wednesday, ending a turbulent 23-year association with Portugal’s shirt and potentially exposing himself to disciplinary sanctions. Coelho believes Ronaldo’s personal brand, however, will emerge stronger from the dispute after dominating global headlines and maintaining an unofficial diplomatic and economic influence greater than any advertising campaign in Portugal.