Football legend Ronaldo launches his hotel brand in Africa
Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is scheduled to open his first Perstana CR7 hotel in Africa in 2019, Chief Development Officer of Pestana Hotel Group Jose Roquette announced this week.
Ronaldo, 32, is one of the world’s most famous footballers and CR7 (his initials and his shirt number) have developed into a brand that appears on merchandise from clothing to watches and aftershave.
The Portuguese star played signed for Spain’s Real Madrid in 2009 from Manchester United. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, Ronaldo has five Ballon d’Or awards, the most for a European player and is tied for most all-time. He is the first player in history to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 25 trophies in his career,
The Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels is a joint venture set up by Ronaldo and Portugal’s largest hotel chain.
“We are delighted to be a part of this project. Marrakech is a successful and increasingly sophisticated destination, the perfect environment for the implementation of Lifestyle and Boutique hotel brands,” Roquette said.
“We are very excited about M Avenue’s alliance with Cristiano Ronaldo and the Pestana Hotel Group. M Avenue is all about creating unique experiences and discovering new talents, so we are very happy to welcome the amazing talent Cristiano Ronaldo and the Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels to the new destination M Avenue in Marrakech,” said Nabil Slitine, CEO of Downtown Hotel Corporation/M Avenue.
The CR7 hotel on M Avenue in the center ofMarrakech, Morroco, will have 168 rooms with two restaurants, a business centre, a fitness centre, a spa and a swimming pool.
Two CR7 hotels, one in Ronaldo’s home town of Madeira Islands and another in Lisbon, capital of Portugal, are already in operation and two more will also be opened in Madrid and New York in the near future.
One of the most marketable sportsmen, he was ranked the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017, as well as the world’s most famous athlete by ESPN in 2016 and 2017.
