“Call me a little later, please”, he demands and after a while he communicates and communicates and communicates, finally, he may respond: “Sorry, it’s not stopping “. A few hours before the launch of Roland Garros, the telephone of Albert Molinarepresentatives of Carlos AlcarazuAnd it’s been like this for months. since the appearance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal You Novak DjokovikWorld tennis had never experienced such an entry into the elite and that’s what happens on the court. “The truth is that, over the past three months, some brand that has been interested in Carlos has called me. Undoubtedly, it has an upward price,” Molina admitted in a conversation with EL Mundo from Paris and In their hands, the development of the event a more difficult development than expected. a sudden development.

Because Alcarz started the year with only two sponsors, Nike and Babolat, and now has two more, both of which are major sponsors, Rolex and ISDIN. Because Alkaraj started the year with just 300,000 followers on Instagram and now he has a million more. Because Alcaraz started the year as the sixth most famous Spanish tennis player behind former players such as manolo santana You Charles Moy -According to the sports sponsorship barometer- and now only Nadal is considered above. The rapid transformation of Alcaraz into the idol of the masses has surprised even those around him, although to be honest they were already expecting something similar to happen.

your first contract

And his first contract, for example, was signed with Babolat in 2014, when the tennis player was only 10 years old. He was in this newspaper J. remembers it in conversation withEin-Christophe VerborgRacket Company’s global marketing director: “After our scout in Spain told us about him, we quickly saw his tennis potential and, in fact, he was already playing with a Babolat with a Nadal model. At that time we We had already signed an agreement on material and in 2018, when he was 14 years old, we had already made him an international contract”.

By then, still a pre-teen, Alcaraz had already put himself in the hands of Molina, a representative of the multinational IMG in Spain and a former agent. David Ferrer hey Nicolas Almagro, and already had offers from several clothing brands. First he wore lotto and after some time in Nike. Today both Babolat and Nike are negotiating their contracts with the Spaniard, as both expire in 2025. Portland company just refurbished italian genetic sinner, twelfth in the ATP rankings, and according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, will give them 150 million euros over the next 10 years at 15 million euros per season. If these parameters are correct, Alcaraz could reach figures around the Big Three, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, i.e. around 30 million per course. Because on his side is not only his youth—19 years—or his victory; Much in his favor, in his favor, is his character.

good boy

“This is important, more than it sounds. All brands want to work with someone like him, who respects people, who is grateful to the workers. At the Mutua Madrid Open we gave him a surprise birthday present. Diya and you had to see how he was thank us one by one. This type of behavior made us all turn to help him, like in 2020, right after his imprisonment, when he asked us to change his racket Unable to travel, we sent him several models to move heaven and earth and in the end he chose the present, pure aero VS”, says Verborg, who, yes, refuses to make a Babolat Alcaraz like Nadal Does: “It’s early days, let’s give him time to develop as a tennis player, but why not make it possible in the future.”

“Brands are looking for an athlete who is a benchmark, also in values. And of course, Carlos is polite, cheerful, fresh, helpful and very pleased,” admits Molina, who knows the benefits of hostility. Is. And it is that tennis has found in Alcaraz what it has been looking for for years, without exaggeration. Djokovic, a two-part form formed by Federer and Nadal, had hailed the sport as a reference to camaraderie and elegance, and that image had been deteriorating in recent times. Next Gen’s continuing controversies are created by? Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stephanos Tsitsipas hey Nick Kyrgios He messed up the game and scared some companies. It was hard to imagine that a brand like Rolex, pure luxury, pure exclusivity, would be relieved to have Federer as the main ambassador, but he already has. with a signed contract.

The Swiss watchmaker has been involved in Alcarz for a long time and has, in fact, already made him a star in an advertisement. The sponsorship provides some details about the image the Spaniard seeks to create for himself, from the projection of his type—worldwide, not just national—to his characteristics—a cheerful, young but formal person—through his references. going from One fact: Rolex has never sponsored Rafa Nadal. And this is very important. According to the sports sponsorship barometer, watchmaking is the brand that is publicly associated with tennis, followed by BNP Paribas, Kia, Mutua Madrilia and Movistar, and the relationship with Alcaraz can benefit both sides.

Nadal’s shadow

“It won’t be easy, but Alcaraz and his team must work to differentiate themselves in order to break out of Rafa Nadal’s long shadow. In theory, one element in his favor is that he is too young and his There will be plenty of time to pass it will happen when Nadal retires.” But from now on they should formulate a strategy in the sense, fix it with the brands… carlos cantoAs an example of what they describe, the case of the CEO of marketing company SPSG Consulting, the person in charge of the sports sponsorship barometer, Marc Marquez,

His arrival at the MotoGP World Championship led to the . created the sponsors and fans of Valentino Rossi They noticed him – Rossi’s own company managed his marketing – but the conflict between the two tarnished the Spaniard’s image. He is still ridiculed by the number 46 fans in some circuits today and it is very difficult for his image to be associated with an Italian company. But distance with Nadal isn’t the only danger that awaits Alcaraz in Awakening as an icon.

brand limit

You must also dodge what can be called an effect David Meccai.e. accepting an exaggerated number of advertising commitments. Yes, his agent’s phone is on fire, Molina, but… “The number of partnerships should be limited in any athlete and even more so in a tennis player. Carlos, like any tennis player, has something to take action There are days off and the brand should be limited.” Take good care of her, give her time. Plus, our marketing strategy right now is heavily dependent on the game. The first thing, the most important thing is that it keeps moving on the track, that it doesn’t overwhelm,” says Molina herself, adding that for now, Alcaraz welcomes photo shoots, events and other commitments: “He knows That it’s part of his job.”

It hasn’t been exposed too much. Even before her boom, Molina had limited representation agreements and more than that, before she grew up, she only had one sponsor that didn’t materialize. It was Postres Reina, a candy and yogurt company from the Carvaca de la Cruz in Murcia, who helped get them started.

“You can get injured and what you didn’t sign today, you won’t sign tomorrow, but you don’t have to rush. Creating the image of an athlete is a marathon, it’s the opposite of a sprint”, by Carlos Cant. Expert in Marketing concludes. In the coming months, the future of Alcaraz will be at stake with many options open. At the moment they have only four sponsors and have officially received five million euros in prize money on the ATP circuit. He currently resides in a 90 square meter wooden house inside the Accademia Equalite de Villena in Alicante. Most likely all this will change soon. In tennis, after some time, the star desired by all the brands is born. A telephone lights up at Roland Garros, it is the telephone of Albert Molina, representative of Carlos Alcaraz.