Alexander Buttner is certainly experiencing the power of a sports brand. Even though he departed Manchester United in August and now plays left-back for Dynamo Moscow, MUFC is the main topic that people want to bring up whenever they meet him.
Talking to Voetbal International, Buttner said:
“Since my arrival not a day has passed without me being asked something about Manchester United. What was it like to play football with [Wayne] Rooney and [Robin] van Persie?”
“What was it like to work under [Sir Alex] Ferguson? Even during sponsor commitments these things are mentioned every time.”
According to the Daily Mail, Alexander Buttner “is frequently given promotional events to do due to his status as a former Manchester United player.” Even though he was only with the team for two years.
‘And to think that Dynamo Moscow have a lot of Russian internationals under contract, but they are currently asked to promote [the club] less,’ he said.
That is the appeal and power of the Manchester United brand. The most recent surveys claim that United have 680,000,000 fans worldwide. They are truly a global phenomenon. Not just a team with local or national level appeal. Alexander Buttner realizes that everyday it seems.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2