To be a successful football you need to have a level of focus and concentration in order to prosper. But face it; that doesn’t always make for the most personable of people and there are a number of athletes that are far from interesting.
But commercials allow sports stars to show a different persona. Whether it’s an advert for a football boot with some kind of technology that will be obsolete in a few months or a new variation of Peak Milk, they offer opportunities for stars to show that they are more than just footballers. This list looks at some of the funniest recent moments from African players on commercials.
Asamoah Gyan became one of the highest paid footballers in the world when he signed for Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG earlier this year. Maybe that’s why this young child finds it hard to believe that he is doing some shopping in the Melcom Plus Complex.
A number of years ago Puma decided to focus an advertising campaign on the African continent and as Eto’o was the most high-profile star at the time he appeared in a number of commercials.
In most instances, he would be displaying the array of forward-looking and at times commercial kits (nice onesie). But it seems that Puma believes in the phrase ‘less is more’ and Eto’o was definitely sporting less in this commercial.
Michael Essien missed the 2010 World Cup in Ghana because of a knee injury and he hasn’t been the same player since. But he managed to show his tricks to a door man in South Africa in this commercial… or did he?
A closer look at the man performing kick-ups in this commercial shows that they used a stunt double, which is kind of silly… Can Essien not keep a ball up?!?
By the end of Didier Drogba’s time at Chelsea, he had grown to superstar international status; he was being compared with luminaries like Christiano Ronaldo and Xavi.
But one player he couldn’t out do was the incomparable Lionel Messi who seemed to be one step ahead of the striker in this commercial for Turkish Airlines.
To Nigerian football fans, Emmanuel Amuneke is remembered as one of the stars of the ’96 Olympics, scoring the winning goal in the gold medal match and putting the team ahead before Baggio’s heroics in the World Cup two years before.
But in Spain and parts of Europe his career is somewhat maligned with this advert which pokes fun at his somewhat unfulfilled potential. If you aren’t fluent in Spanish he plays the role of an entrepreneur selling his football skills video, but sadly his skills are limited to a solitary throw-in.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is destined for big things on the pitch after tearing up the Bundesliga this season. However, he might be one to look out for on the big screen too as he shows off his acting chops in this commercial… all while pulling off a few tricks.