What and who is behind the successful image of tennis ace Carlos Alcaraz? The answer is Albert Molina. The world number one's manager discovered him at the age of 13.
He kept track of all his participations in the Rafa Nadal Tour. He invested weeks and weeks. When he was convinced of his potential, he met with Carlos Alcaraz Sr.
He explained the project to him and began to work with Carlitos. He accompanied him to all the most important events on the calendar, whether it was Tarbes or the European Championships.
His first agreements were with Lotto (clothing), Babolat (rackets) and Postres Reina (food). Then Isdin came knocking at the door when he was just a teenager, followed by Nike, which demands exclusivity in playing apparel.
At the age of 16, when the results were encouraging, Albert thought definitively about the strategy to follow to create a global image.
Local and international brands appeared, but the agent thinks big and so does the family of the current best tennis player on the planet.
Money is not the priority, but rather international prestige, the values he exudes, with a link to tennis and a long-term deal that can accompany him throughout his career.
Alcaraz has to be linked to top, premium brands and is associated with Rolex (watches) and BMW (cars). Calvin Klein (underwear) arrived, with whom he signed for a single campaign, and finally Louis Vuitton, after having said no to other internationally renowned fashion companies.
The French company places the Murcian on a par with Muhammad Ali, Pele, Zidane, Maradona, Messi and Cristiano Rolando, the other sportsmen who were once its ambassadors.
He also gives a nod to his homeland by linking his image to El Pozo and the Region of Murcia.
The agent of the best tennis player on the planet moves by categories and in the pyramid he has in mind there are three missing: a bank, an insurance company and a telecommunications company.
When these appear, the puzzle will be complete. An energy drink is not ruled out, although it has to meet a certain profile.
Albert has gone from having to make a lot of calls and write a lot of emails for Alcaraz to being the one who receives overtures and has to turn companies down.
The contacts are also requests for interviews, invitations to galas, acknowledgements and even offers to write books about a 20-year-old player.
However, for signings with the big brands, the first step always has to be taken. And the work doesn't start when the player from El Palmar won the US Open.
The contacts are years old and the results are achieved with the definitive explosion of Carlitos. He was already in the market.
The agreements with BMW, Rolex and El Pozo come before the achievement of the first Grand Slam of his career on the courts of Flushing Meadows. Alcaraz's smile moves mountains.
Carlos Costa's endorsement
Albert joined the multinational IMG in February 2006. Carlos Costa, Rafael Nadal's agent, gave him the alternative and took over the representation of David Ferrer and Nicolás Almagro.
Both the Valencian and the Murcian ended their contracts with the company and renewed them. Both already knew Molina from his time as captain of the RCT Barcelona teams.
With a degree in Physical Education and a Master's Degree in High Performance Tennis, he started in the sport of racket sports as a physical trainer for Nuria Llagostera, Lourdes Dominguez and Conchita Martinez Granados, with whom he would end up marrying.
He acquired his talent for attracting promising players as a coach at Tennis Barcelona. He recruited young players for the teams.
Now he has the help of Jordi Puig. The number one trained yesterday with his brother Alvaro and was photographed afterwards with the family present in London.
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