No one, it seems, is immune to the credit crunch – not even multi-millionaire football superstar Wayne Rooney.
The Manchester United and England player has been dropped by Mercedes-Benz – one of his big sponsors – in a cost-cutting measure. Rooney signed a £1million two-year deal with the luxury German car maker last summer, but was axed by the company last week. As part of the deal, Rooney, 23, had top-of-the-range Mercedes at his disposal, as well as a chauffeur-driven car, to take him to public engagements.
He also received a customised CL63 Coupé, complete with built-in fridge and radar-assisted cruise control, worth £121,200. When The Mail on Sunday revealed that Mercedes had signed up Rooney as its new ambassador last year, some industry experts described the move as ‘extremely strange’.
Brand analyst Peter York said at the time: ‘Ordinarily you’d expect Mercedes to choose someone aspirational and classy to advertise its cars, and it’s fair to say that Wayne Rooney doesn’t fit into that category.’
There was also an option in Rooney’s contract for him to appear in adverts for Mercedes-Benz but he never featured in any of its public marketing campaigns. Rooney is paid £100,000 a week by Manchester United, but his sponsorship and endorsement deals bring in far more – they are expected to earn him £100million by the time he is 30.
He has a £5million ten-year deal with Nike and earns £1million a year from adverts for Coca-Cola, which also feature Coleen. He has a six-figure deal with video game-maker Electronic Arts and a £5million book deal with HarperCollins.The deal with Mercedes represented a major motoring leap for Rooney. Five years ago he was signed as the face of Ford, and he drove a £5,000 Ford Ka when he passed his driving test before moving up to a Focus.
He now owns an impressive fleet of vehicles, including a Bentley, a Cadillac, an Aston Martin, a Range Rover Sport and a Lamborghini. A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz said yesterday: ‘We never disclose details of arrangements made with individuals.’
A source at Mercedes said last night: ‘Wayne has been quietly dropped from Mercedes. We are not making a big deal about it. The company is making cutbacks and could not be seen to be paying £500,000 a year for Wayne Rooney to endorse it.
‘It was the first time Mercedes had used a famous footballer as a brand ambassador and not everyone felt that Rooney was the right fit.
‘The main reason for dropping him, however, was money. Like everyone else, Mercedes is feeling the pinch, and cutting back on celebrity brand endorsement was the first measure of a worldwide cost-cutting exercise.’
A source close to Rooney, who is expecting his first child with his wife Coleen later this year, said the England striker was disappointed that the contract had been axed.
‘Wayne is in a unique and privileged position as far as sponsorship deals are concerned. They earn him a fortune, far more than football,’ the source said.
‘He was thrilled to be endorsing Mercedes because he is a total car fanatic and is a huge fan of Mercedes. He bought one for Coleen for her birthday. He loves them, so of course he’s disappointed.’
Source:Daily Mail
