UFL CEO explains how they got Cristiano Ronaldo on-board as an investor in the upcoming game
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the lead investors and cover stars of the upcoming football game UFL, and the CEO Eugene Nashilov has explained how it happened. The Portuguese superstar has thrown his weight behind the game, which is yet to launch, as it looks to gain a significant market share.
EA Sports had the entire football gaming ecosystem in their grasp with their FIFA games before a disagreement with football's governing body. As a result, EA FC 24, the last release from EA Sports, was received with mixed reactions from fans and players alike.
Cristiano Ronaldo invested a whopping $40 million into the UFL game, which is set to undergo beta testing in the first week of August. Nashilov told SportBible what it took them to convince the 39-year-old to come on board as an investor in the game.
"I'm sure in a financial competition with EA they could have offered him more than what we have, although our deal is not the smallest one I have to stress," he stated.
"On the other hand at the time there was KONAMI, who had [Lionel] Messi as the cover star so Ronaldo could have been out of the world of digital football but we popped up at the right time," Nashilov added.
The CEO explained that Cristiano Ronaldo had accepted to be an ambassador before agreeing to invest in the game. Nashilov said that the Real Madrid legend was impressed by their resolve to make the game free for all and also believed in their ability to deliver their promises.
"When Cristiano joined us as an investor he had already been an ambassador for some time," he explained. "There are big gaming publishers in the consortium that guarantee we can deliver for him, with all of these combined as well as our great relationship it worked out well."
"The 'fair to play' aspect really stuck out to him with the game being free to play. We can ensure that this will always remain the case. He felt like there is a certain chance that these guys will deliver what they say so that really affected his decision-making," Nashilov added.
The game is set to be launched just once, unlike the EA Sports games, which are launched every year. The plan is for gamers to receive updated features based on their real-life performance every month.
Cristiano Ronaldo sparks marriage rumors after comments about his partner
Cristiano Ronaldo has sparked rumors of a possible secret marriage following his comments about long-time partner Georgina Rodriguez. The Al-Nassr superstar spoke about her in an advertisement video on Instagram for Whoop, referring to Georgina as his wife.
“Most important thing is, it’s not what you do, it’s you have to do. When I’m not training in the club, I like to work with my wife at home."
“I can push her and she can push me too.”
Ronaldo and Rodriguez have been together for about seven years and live with their five children.