It is a well-known fact that small gifts keep friendship alive. And big gifts? Maybe even bend them back into place? There was a bit of a crisis in the last few meters between FC Bayern and their record striker Robert Lewandowski. He is now training at FC Barcelona, but came to Säbener Strasse one last time to say goodbye on Tuesday morning and left his teammates with a souvenir, as it should be: a bottle of Armand de Brignac champagne. Retail price of the golden bottle in a gift box: from 295 euros. “After weeks of arguing, a farewell in glamor and glory!”, she rejoiced picture.
Sure, you want to be remembered well if the paths cross again. At almost 34, Barcelona is likely to be his last stop for the time being. But there’s still Inter Miami, Japan, the Persian Gulf. Who knows with which Munich he could share the team cabin again.
self-mockery? Rather unlikely with RL9
But fine champagne? Ironically, by Robert Lewandowski, who, in his strict fitness craze, eats gluten-free banana pancakes for breakfast, eats dessert before fried chicken, but doesn’t drink alcohol? The subliminal message could of course be: “Now you can finally let it rip and without me, the eternal fun killer. Let the corks pop!” That would actually be a bit funny and self-deprecating, but is rather unlikely with RL9.
Erling Haaland, on the other hand, was even more generous when he left Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian gave each of his 38 (!) teammates and coaches a Rolex. Something like the Advanced Friendship Bracelet. (The rest of the staff got an Omega anyway.) That’s really generous, and certainly wasn’t easy to find given the current supply chain problems. But of course the idea is not particularly original. Luxury watches are practically the standard give-away among professional soccer players. Argentinian Kun Agüero also gave his colleagues from Man City a Hublot or Tag Heuer when he left last summer. It is not known whether everyone was allowed to vote in order to avoid double counting in the clock cabinet. In addition, he raffled his brand new Range Rover Evoque among all employees. The lucky winner: the kit man.
Ronaldo doesn’t need a farewell for luxury gifts – winning a tournament is enough for him
Cristiano Ronaldo gave his teammates from Real Madrid a luxury watch back in 2014 – and not just to say goodbye, but only occasionally, to win the Décima, the tenth Champions League. Cost per piece: 8200 euros. Definitely not cheaper by the dozen. On the back were also engraved the name of the respective player, La Décima and his abbreviation CR7. This is how you are remembered and prevent the whole bling bling from being sold on Ebay later.
Of course, such expensive gifts always have to be viewed in context. Anyone who, like Haaland, is said to earn £375,000 a week in the Premier League has a little looser money than other employees who give a plate of donuts and a few Helles to say goodbye. Nobody wants to add up here, what counts anyway is the gesture, preferably with a personal note. That’s why Lewandowski’s gift box not only contained the bottle of champagne, but also a few photos from their time together in Bavaria and his signature as a treat. Is it more emotional?
As always, it’s worth taking a look at Ronaldo again. In a similarly personal way, he once gave his teammates a set of his own underwear collection. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is much more practically oriented. The 40-year-old put a Playstation 5 under the tree for every AC Milan professional at Christmas 2020. Finally something that the young colleagues really appreciate.