CAA Sports and International Soccer Agency Gestifute Create Global Partnership to Represent Top Talent, Including Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Head Coach Jose Mourinho | Business Wire

LOS ANGELES & LISBON, Portugal–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CAA Sports, a division of leading entertainment and sports agency CAA,

and Gestifute, a leading sports management company, have formed a global

partnership to represent the world’s premier

soccer players and coaches. Clients include Manchester United’s

Cristiano Ronaldo, the 2007 and 2008 Professional Footballers’

Association Players’ Player of the Year and

Fans’ Player of the Year, and José

Mourinho, the two-time International Federation of Football History

and Statistics World’s Best Club Coach of the

Year.

CAA Sports and Gestifute will work to create global opportunities for

current and future clients in the areas of endorsements, speaking

engagements, licensing and merchandising, publishing, film, television,

video games, and the Internet.

Founded in 1996, Gestifute is led by FIFA agent Jorge Mendes, who

recently negotiated Mourinho’s £21

million, three-year contract with Inter Milan.

“We wanted a partner who could create the best

opportunities for our clients across a wide spectrum of possibilities,”

said Gestifute Director Luis Correia. “With

CAA, our clients will benefit from an unmatched spectrum of services and

expertise that capitalizes on the global scale of soccer.”

“In addition to succeeding for a spectacular

roster of clients, Gestifute has demonstrated a forward-thinking

approach to the business of sports representation,” said Michael Levine,

co-head, CAA Sports. “We know they will be a powerful ally in forging

exciting opportunities for our current combined roster of soccer clients

and in growing our partnership to include new players and coaches.”

“CAA and Gestifute working together can only

mean great things for players,” said Ronaldo,

who led Manchester United both the English Premier League title and the

UEFA Champions League title for the 2007-08 season. “I

want to be surrounded by the best advisors possible to help me on the

pitch and off. CAA knows how to elevate and expand careers, and I am

thrilled by my new combined representation.”

Mourinho added, “I believe this new

partnership has every ingredient for success and I look forward to being

a part of it.”

In addition to Ronaldo and Mourinho, clients include Ricardo Carvalho

(Chelsea/Portuguese National team), Anderson (Manchester

United/Brazilian National Team), Nani (Manchester United/Portuguese

National Team), Deco (Chelsea FC/Portuguese National Team), Ricardo

Quaresma (FC Porto/ Portuguese National Team), 2002 World Cup-winning

head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari (Chelsea FC), and the young GP2 driver

Alvaro Parente.

CAA Sports entered into the soccer business in early 2007, when it

helped orchestrate the landmark deal that brought David Beckham to the

U.S. to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and, working with Beckham’s

manager, Simon Fuller, has since inked worldwide endorsement deals for

the international superstar. Most recently, CAA Sports was hired by

Chelsea FC to help grow their brand worldwide and provide counsel in

other business areas. CAA Sports also orchestrated the deal for Swedish

star Freddie Ljungberg to transfer to West Ham United FC from Arsenal FC

and has brokered multiple international endorsement deals for Ljungberg.

For FC Barcelona midfielder Ronaldinho, CAA Sports secured a global

endorsement deal with Alticor’s Nutrilite

brand. In addition to traditional athlete representation, CAA Sports

possesses expertise in helping non-U.S. soccer clubs gain valuable

exposure in North America through high-profile exhibition matches. CAA

Sports also worked closely with former Walt Disney Studios and Twentieth

Century Fox Chairman Joe Roth, helping navigate his purchase of a

Seattle-based Major League Soccer expansion team and his co-owner

partnership with Paul Allen.

About Gestifute

Gestifute is a company managing the careers of professional sportsmen.

It was founded in 1996 and currently has offices in Porto and Lisbon

(Portugal). It is led by the FIFA Agent Jorge Mendes, who represents

several of the world’s top coaches and footballers, providing them with

a meticulous, thorough and professional service.

The discovery and promotion of young talent is also one of the main

objectives of the company, providing careful career planning in a

family-like atmosphere. This positive working environment is made

possible by Gestifute’s team structure that

includes nearly 20 experienced and dedicated professionals. Indeed, this

approach is a main factor in the success of Gestifute, which has been

behind some of the major transfers in world football.

In addition, through PolarisSports, Gestifute is the commercial manager

of image rights for professional sportsmen. It also supplies marketing

and advertising solutions, including special event creation, that

associate its players and coaches with prestigious international brands

while addressing the needs of brand marketers.

About CAA Sports

CAA Sports represents more than 400 of the world’s best athletes,

coaches, on-air broadcasters, and sports personalities, including the

five most recent NFL MVPs, the 2007 NHL MVP, the MVP of the 2007 NBA

Finals, baseball’s 2007 National League

Rookie of the Year, the two-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Champion, and many of the world’s best tennis

players. Beyond traditional athlete representation, CAA Sports provides

unique opportunities for clients off the field, in areas including

licensing, endorsements, speaking, philanthropy, and video games. CAA

Sports also works in the areas of broadcast rights, corporate marketing

initiatives, and sports properties for sales/sponsorship opportunities,

winning the highly-coveted global partnership with the New York Yankees

to bring to market a major long-term corporate sponsorship for the new

Yankee Stadium. CAA Sports is a division of Creative Artists Agency

(CAA), an entertainment agency that represents the world’s

most successful actors, directors, writers, producers and artists

working in film, television, music, theatre, and video games, and

provides a range of strategic marketing services to corporate clients.

The post CAA Sports and International Soccer Agency Gestifute Create Global Partnership to Represent Top Talent, Including Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Head Coach Jose Mourinho | Business Wire appeared first on TRJ Marketing.

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