Making some big moves off the pitch, Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has become the latest high profile sports star to sign for Jay-Z’s management agency, Roc Nation Sports.
The announcement was made public along with imagery of Bailly side-by-side with New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, the pair swapping jerseys as the Ivorian was welcomed to Roc Nation. Bailly joins United teammate Romelu Lukaku in the Roc Nation family, and the big Belgian, who was the first Premier League star to join the American company, was quick to welcome his fellow Red Devil.
Roc Nation Sports focuses on elevating athletes’ careers on a global scale both on and off the field – executing marketing and endorsement deals, community outreach, charitable tie-ins, media relations and brand strategy. They put their athletes out there and advise on which deals will suit both their image and their interests. One of the first actions Lukaku took when signing with Roc Nation was to tie up a deal with PUMA, and Bailly looks to follow the same path as Roc Nation look to be working closely with the sports brand.
Bailly has already been seen training in PUMA Future 2.1 boots as Manchester United enjoy some warm weather sessions over in Dubai, leading to speculation that he may be jumping from the Nike ship in the coming weeks as PUMA up their 2019 recruitment charge. The news of a link-up with Roc Nations Sports will only add further speculation that he's set to sign with PUMA.
Bailly has also just been named in the 2018 African Team of the Year and is back on the scene at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It's all set up for the Ivorian to have a big year, and for PUMA they'll bag themselves a player with a huge following who still has big potential.
