Bayer Leverkusen sporting executive Rudi Voller has been adamant in stating that the German club did not buy Javier “Chicharito” Hernández for “marketing reasons.” “To be honest, I am not interested in clicks on the Internet or follower numbers from the social networks. That’s just not my world,” he told German sports weekly Sports Bild.
In reality, signing a player like Chicharito has the potential to bring some really sweet marketing perks, and despite Voller’s persistent denial, it could have very much had something to do with the Mexican international’s €12 million transfer deadline day deal.
Since his arrival, Chicharito has already boosted the club’s social media presence tenfold. When official news of his transfer was released by the club’s Twitter account, the tweet received over 15,000 retweets, a truly unprecedented number for a team like Leverkusen.
On top of this, the club’s server crashed under the pressure of fans eagerly clicking to try and get their hands on an Hernández shirt or catch a glimpse of his online intro news conference.
His personal account has more than double the followers of Bayern Munich, by and large the best and most popular team in German fútbol, so it’s no wonder that he’s adding a bit of glitz and glamour to Leverkusen’s marketing plan (and inevitably putting smiles on the faces of the marketing team in the process). If @miseleccionmx is behind you, you’re bound for social media success.
Chicharito debuted for his new club this past Saturday, coming off the bench in a 1-0 loss against Darmstadt. Today, the German side takes on BATE Borisov at home in their Champions League opener.