Aguero, Falcao, Balotelli, Fabregas; PUMA's Premier League stock has never been higher. So has the time come for PUMA to back one of their superstars with a signature boot line? We ask the question and take a look at each contender.
PUMA’s presence in the Premier League received a substantial boost this transfer window, with Mario Balotelli, Cesc Fabregas and Radamel Falcao all moving to the most watched league in the world. The trio of imports got us thinking about who PUMA’s stand-out star player really is. Nike have Cristiano Ronaldo, adidas have Lionel Messi but PUMA are yet to single out their key man, a player worthy of receiving his own signature line.
Is now the time for PUMA to hand one of their star players a signature football boot? A player that truly represents the brand, a headline global icon that consumers can idolise and immediately associate with PUMA. With a bigger market share of the Premier League than ever before, a league which boasts a global TV audience of around 4.7bn, are PUMA missing a trick by not selecting a ‘captain’ of their squad?
So why don’t PUMA have a signature player? The obvious argument is that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are in a league of their own when it comes to ability and commercial power. But should that prevent PUMA from installing their own superstar? Ronaldo and Messi’s fame has only been boosted by Nike and adidas who pump millions into signature campaigns each year. Look at David Beckham, another obvious commercial exception from PUMA’s pool of players, but one who was never amongst the top players in the world. Regardless, adidas elevated his profile, making him the face of the brand with a series of signature boot designs.
What about PUMA’s options? The obvious contenders are Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao, Cesc Fabregas and Marco Reus, with the last two maybe being an outside shout. Strikers are the ideal poster players for a brand, with the world’s top goal scorers usually getting the signature treatment. They’re the headliners, the players who are going to be on the back pages the next day and the players that fans idolise. With that in mind, we would narrow PUMA’s options down to three; Balotelli, Aguero and Falcao.
The latter is 28 and returning from a serious knee injury, isn’t playing in the Champions League and is on loan; not the best ingredients for PUMA to maximise exposure. Liverpool’s new front-man Mario Balotelli has received somewhat of a signature boot before when he first signed for the brand and there’s no doubt he has the personality to pull off an individual look. Liverpool are back in the Champions League, he’s just 24 years old and has the swagger to carry his own branding. His trophy cabinet may not compare to that of Ronaldo or Messi, but he still boasts three Serie A titles and a Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup medal. The only con? He’s an unpredictable, loose cannon.
Then there’s Sergio Aguero, arguably the best player PUMA have on their books at just 26-years-old. A fit Aguero is PUMA’s best choice for us, but that’s the biggest problem, his fitness. There’s no good owning a Ferrari if it’s always in the garage. PUMA have leant on Aguero before when testing the CAMO versions of the evoSPEED - a boot that he should have been wearing when he score Manchester City’s title winning goal against QPR in 2011/12. Aguero’s profile edges him above Falcao and Balotelli and he certainly has the personality to build a signature range around. Should he win more titles with City and create more “Aguerooooo” moments, we’d love to see PUMA go for it and launch a signature Aguero evoSPEED.
Which PUMA player would you give a signature boot line to? Let us know below.
