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Maradona suing Konami for using his likeness without permission in PES 2017

M

mavo

Banned
Zvonimir Boban said:
What, you thought they were just a football club?

It's not that uncommon, football teams have plenty of sponsors and commercial partners and those guys will often want to use the image/name of their players in their own adverts or corporate events or prevent their sponsor's rivals from using a player's image rights. (So Man City players won't turn up in an Emirates advert any time, nor Arsenal players in Etihad ads)

Players use image rights to get round taxes as well, I know in the UK many players won't own their own image rights but they'll set up a separate company that owns those rights. That way, instead of being taxed 45% like they are for their regular wages they only pay corporation tax of 20% for any money they earn from their image rights.

For huge players like Messi, when it's time to negotiate a contract extension and they go to Barcelona to ask for eleventy billion Euros a month, the club will sometimes ask for a slice of their image rights in return for a deal that is 85% wages and 15% being paid to the image rights company.

Haven't read much about that area of the law so I'm sure I've made a mistake or two in there but that's the gist of it.

TL;DR: It's all complicated tax avoidance bollocks
Click to expand...

I know about image rights.

But Maradona's contract with Barcelona ended 23 years ago, and it likely didnt include anything about videogames, maybe it didnt anything about image rights since IIRC the first big profile player to have such a contract with his club was Beckham with Real Madrid.
 
Z

Zvonimir Boban

Banned
mavo said:
I know about image rights.

But Maradona's contract with Barcelona ended 23 years ago, and it likely didnt include anything about videogames, maybe it didnt anything about image rights since IIRC the first big profile player to have such a contract with his club was Beckham with Real Madrid.
Click to expand...

Even money that this is what happened:

*A mansion on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in the early 1999. It is 3pm. Diego Maradona has finished snorting a couple of lines of coke for breakfast when the phone rings. His agent/business manager is on the other line.*

"Hey Diego, I didn't wake you did I?"

"Nah <sniff>, what's up?"

"Got a call from Barcelona, they're doing some all-star charity game for their centennial year and they want to buy your image rights so they can use them in their marketing materials."

"Man, how many people are buying Barca shirts with Maradona on the back in this day and age? What are they offering?"

"A gazillion pesos"

*Maradona dreams about the mountain of coke he could buy with that money*

"Yeah. Do it. <sniff> Who cares about image rights? That shit will be worthless when Y2K causes the apocalypse. <sniff> Even if the world doesn't end those fucking chumps will be broke ten years from now"
 
R

Rymuth

Member
Frodo said:
I read Maradona as Madonna and I was like

6qyXqjd.gif
Click to expand...
That was my first reaction

My second was, "Maradona is still alive?"
 
T

Tonyx

Member
If the Maradona claim has any merit I guess other legends could sue as well (I feel it's unlikely they got rights for everyone except him).
 
A

Abilidebob

Member
The Argentine star has a rating of 98 - the highest rating you can get. Ronaldo gets rating of 93 and Ronaldinho is rated 91.
Click to expand...

So what rating Pelé has? There may be a war depending on the numbers.
 
keraj37

keraj37

Member
Zvonimir Boban said:
Even money that this is what happened:

*A mansion on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in the early 1999. It is 3pm. Diego Maradona has finished snorting a couple of lines of coke for breakfast when the phone rings. His agent/business manager is on the other line.*

"Hey Diego, I didn't wake you did I?"

"Nah <sniff>, what's up?"

"Got a call from Barcelona, they're doing some all-star charity game for their centennial year and they want to buy your image rights so they can use them in their marketing materials."

"Man, how many people are buying Barca shirts with Maradona on the back in this day and age? What are they offering?"

"A gazillion pesos"

*Maradona dreams about the mountain of coke he could buy with that money*

"Yeah. Do it. <sniff> Who cares about image rights? That shit will be worthless when Y2K causes the apocalypse. <sniff> Even if the world doesn't end those fucking chumps will be broke ten years from now"
Click to expand...

Made my laugh. Thanks!
 
M

Meier

Member
mavo said:
Man, Maradona played two years for Barcelona in the 80s.

Seems really weird to me that they still own his "likeness", how does that even works, specially his likeness over a videogame.
Click to expand...

"Image rights" are a HUGE deal in soccer specifically. You frankly never hear about them with any other sport, but they're always discussed in the context of negotiations with big players. I'm not surprised they have the capability to still license his likeness out -- it probably just can't vary from what he looked like when he played with them.
 
R

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
Sora the Cat said:
Drugs fried his brain years ago.

Fuck him, and I said this as an Argentinian, I hate the fact that he is an idol over here when he treated his unrecognized childrens like shit most of his life.

Edit: Also, we don't deserve that world cup, I will never be proud of a goal made with the hand, even if he also made the greatest goal ever on that same match, fuck that.
Click to expand...
Yup, he may have been great as a football player, but as a person he deserves a rating of 1. This fool still supports everything that's happening in Venezuela.
 
R

Ruruja

Member
Zvonimir Boban said:
What, you thought they were just a football club?

It's not that uncommon, football teams have plenty of sponsors and commercial partners and those guys will often want to use the image/name of their players in their own adverts or corporate events or prevent their sponsor's rivals from using a player's image rights. (So Man City players won't turn up in an Emirates advert any time, nor Arsenal players in Etihad ads)

Players use image rights to get round taxes as well, I know in the UK many players won't own their own image rights but they'll set up a separate company that owns those rights. That way, instead of being taxed 45% like they are for their regular wages they only pay corporation tax of 20% for any money they earn from their image rights.

For huge players like Messi, when it's time to negotiate a contract extension and they go to Barcelona to ask for eleventy billion Euros a month, the club will sometimes ask for a slice of their image rights in return for a deal that is 85% wages and 15% being paid to the image rights company.

Haven't read much about that area of the law so I'm sure I've made a mistake or two in there but that's the gist of it.

TL;DR: It's all complicated tax avoidance bollocks
Click to expand...

No, I understand that - but some of these players played for them 30 years ago, not currently.

Maybe it's something Spanish clubs do differently in their contracts, similar to their extreme minimum fee release clauses.
 
B

bigol

Member
Konami answers on its official website:

https://konami.com/games/jp/ja/topics/4369/?cm_sp=01-_-topics-_-20170403-e

We deeply appreciate your constant patronage to our products.

There has been media reports about ”Winning Eleven 2017" (Overseas name: PES 2017 -Pro Evolution Soccer-) using unauthorized players in the game, but we are using the rights correctly according to the agreement with the Licenser.

We hope to receive your continued patronage to the series in the future.
Click to expand...
 
B

Blablurn

Member
It's not over, Konami. Not yet.

n3p56hfxxrpy.png


English translation of Maradona post:

Now Konami says in public that Barcelona gave them the rights of my image. But in what head does it if that the national argentinian team can be manipulated by Barcelona? And less by KONAMI. In my 56 years they don't make fun of me anymore. KONAMI, I tell you: you will eat one juicy milionaire recompense, and all the money I get will go to make football pitches for poor kids. And there they will be able to play something that isn't dirty. That's everything in the hands of my lawyer Matías Morla.
Click to expand...
 
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