They predicted that the firms which have helped amass a £34million fortune would react unfavourably to the wrecking of his family-man image.
And they warned that, unlike the golfer who still has a long career ahead of him, 37-year-old Giggs is unlikely to have enough time to rebuild his reputation before he ends his playing days.
United in public: Stacey Giggs has so far stayed with the shamed footballer and the couple are currently out of the country as further revelations come to light
Giggs’s biggest deal, which has earned him £20million, is with the sportswear giant Reebok, but it declined to respond yesterday when asked by the Mail whether it would be standing by him.
The Manchester United star’s downfall came after he was revealed to have taken out an injunction forbidding reporting of an alleged relationship with former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.
Then, at the weekend, his brother Rhodri’s wife Natasha revealed that she and Giggs had an eight-year affair.
She is said to have regularly slept with the £80,000-a-week star until April this year, during which time she and Rhodri had a son who will be five this summer.
More to come: Natasha Giggs is understood to have signed a six-figure tabloid deal following the revelation that she had an eight-year affair with Ryan Giggs, the brother of her husband Rhodri, pictured right
The alleged affair raises the prospect that Rhodri could now demand a paternity test to examine the possibility that his brother is actually the father of the child.
‘He looks just like Rhodri – but then the two brothers also look very similar,’ a friend was quoted as saying.
The boy was born in August 2006, two months before Ryan and Stacey Giggs’s own son was born.
DNA testing experts confirmed that there would be sufficient markers in samples from brothers who were not genetically identical twins to establish paternity.
Rhodri fled abroad yesterday after apparently telling friends that his marriage is over.
Meanwhile, Ryan was due to stay, with wife Stacey, at their favourite hotel in Spain.
But the couple cancelled their room at the plush Marbella Club and are now believed to have switched to a more private villa.
A source at the exclusive resort told The Sun: 'Their booking was suddenly cancelled. It's a shock to hear of the trouble in their marriage.'
Big deal: Giggs' sponsorship with sportswear company Reebok has helped to earn him £20m
Struggle: Marketing experts have said that Giggs will find it extremely difficult to recover his image in the time he has left in his playing career
It was reported at the weekend that 28-year-old Natasha decided to speak out from a sense of betrayal after Giggs took out his ill-fated injunction to keep his alleged affair with Miss Thomas secret.
Serial adulterer: Tiger Woods lost several sponsorship deals when his affairs came to light
Marketing experts said firms would now be loth to associate themselves with him. Along with Reebok, Giggs signed deals to publicise the Swiss watch firms Patek Philippe and Cyma, car manufacturer Citroen and phone company Saudi Telecom.
They were attracted by a combination of his former teen heart-throb image and his more mature self-styled persona as happily-married family man, linked with good causes such as Unicef and his being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Nigel Currie, of the consultancy Brand Rapport, said the latest developments were ‘extremely damaging from Giggs’s point of view’. He added: ‘What he had going for him from a marketing perspective was his seemingly clean-cut personal image.
‘A little like Tiger Woods, he had this untouchable air about him, almost Mr Perfect – he was seen as a model professional and a really good guy.
‘Once that image goes, he’s likely to find his whole unique selling point has gone, too.’
Gillette stopped showing adverts featuring Woods after he was exposed as a serial adulterer, while the management consultancy Accenture also cut back the golfer’s role and Gatorade dropped Woods-branded drinks.
Mr Currie said Giggs was in a different position to clubmate Wayne Rooney following last year’s revelations that he had paid women for sex.
Key sponsors Nike, Coca-Cola and computer games manufacturer EA Sports initially stood by Rooney, although Coke eventually dropped his £600,000-a-year deal earlier this year.
‘Rooney already had something of a bad boy image, so while that will have affected family brands it won’t necessarily worry more lad-orientated brands,’ said Mr Currie.
‘But for Giggs at this stage of his career, these are pretty damaging accusations to recover from.’
A tired looking Rhodri was driven from his £170,000 terrace home yesterday by his best friend, the actor Will Mellor
Before the storm: Rhodri Giggs and his wife Natasha enjoy a meal on holiday
Following the exposure of his alleged affair with Miss Thomas, Giggs’s wife is understood to have stuck by him, but should that change now he could also face losing a large chunk of the fortune which has made him Britain’s 20th-richest sportsman.
When claims of the affair with Natasha emerged, Giggs was already out of the country with his wife and their son and daughter. His sister-in-law and her two children – one by a previous relationship – also fled abroad.
The brothers’ aunt, Joanna Wilson, described Giggs as ‘a dirty dog’ with ‘no morals’.
Yesterday his brother, a delivery driver and non-league football manager, looked tired and stressed as he left his £170,000 terrace townhouse in Bolton.
Having packed a suitcase, Rhodri was driven away in his Audi R4 by Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps actor Will Mellor, who was best man at his wedding last summer after Giggs pulled out following a row.
0 comments:
Post a Comment