As far as the authorities in Gelsenkirchen were concerned, every precaution had been taken. Extra stewards patrolled the perimeter of the field at the Arena AufSchalke. Plainclothes security staff members were in the stands. And two imposing security guards stood at the edge of the tunnel that led to the locker rooms.
And yet even that was not enough. As Portugal’s players trudged to the dressing room after their defeat to Georgia last week, a fan circumvented the additional layers of security by hurling himself over the top of the tunnel and jumping directly into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rather than coming face-to-face with his hero, though, the interloper botched his landing and fell down a set of stairs. The point, though, had been made. The lure of Ronaldo is such that, no matter what the stadium authorities or the security services do, it is ultimately not possible to stop people from trying to take a selfie with him.
Ronaldo’s fame, at this stage, cannot really be overstated. Now 39, he has, for 20 years, been one of the two finest soccer players of his generation: a breaker of innumerable records, a serial champion, a multiple winner of the Ballon d’Or as the world’s best player.
That status has started to wane in recent years as the clock ticks on his career, but it has had little impact on his broader footprint. He remains a walking billboard. His portfolio of endorsements includes high fashion (Louis Vuitton), heavy industry (Egyptian Steel) and cryptocurrency (Binance).
His image has been used to sell products as diverse as luxury watches, nutritional supplements and Japanese facial muscle toners. Saudi Arabia is currently trying to grow an entire top-level soccer league in the light of his supernova. He is, though, more than a brand; he is a particular kind of aspiration, a blend of wealth, success and a really great skin care routine, a high-performance podcast rendered in perfect flesh.
