Edtech company Byju’s troubles continue with the fallout of its liquidity crisis and run-ins with regulators reaching its brand deals. Byju’s three year deal with football star Lionel Messi has been put on hold. It had been barely a year since the deal was signed.
One of the executives, as reported by ET, mentioned that the edtech company paid Byju’s in the first year. But, decisions are yet to be taken whether the company will terminate the deal before the full term or revive the contract.
On November 4, 2022, Byju’s announced that it has signed football star and global sports icon Lionel “Leo” Messi as the first global brand ambassador of its social impact arm, Education For All (EFA). Messi, who had captained the Argentinian football team to a historic World Cup win, had signed an agreement with Byju’S to promote the cause of equitable education.
The company said that this association was in sync with the expanding global footprint of Byju’s and its commitment to make education accessible, equitable, and affordable for all.
In early 2022, Byju’s became the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The founders also attended the final in Qatar.
The long-term engagement, which began as Messi embarked on his final campaign to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 as captain of Argentina’s national football team, was to see him feature in campaigns promoting Byju’s Education For All, Storyboard18 reported.
It is to be noted that Byju’s had been criticised for spending huge amount of marketing money to secure FIFA sponsorship while it had announced mass layoffs during the time.
Recently, founder of Byju’s, Byju Raveendran highlighted that the company had paid all the pending salaries for the month January over the last two days.
Read More: Explained: No end in sight for Byju’s woes; what went wrong?