Once it became official that Turkish Airlines had renewed a sponsorship deal with Kobe Bryant for two more years, all sorts of news starting come out of Turkey involving the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.
Apparently, Kobe is convinced that the Turkish League is the best in Europe and second in the world behind the NBA. Not many will argue that fact with many NBA players signing with Turkish teams in recent years with Deron Williams and Allen Iverson as arguably the two biggest names to do so.
Along with renewing his deal with Turkish Airlines and dubbing the Turkish League one of the best in the world, Kobe will also appear in a commercial for the Airlines with soccer superstar Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona according to Mete Atkas via Twitter:
@hoopshype Kobe Bryant will play in a new commercial film for Turkish Airlines along with FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
— Mete Aktaş (@MeteAktas76) September 21, 2012
As an avid soccer supporter and fan of Barcelona, Kobe has great respect for the game and for Messi. As arguably the best soccer player in the world today, next to Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, Messi is currently one of the biggest stars in Europe.
It could be argued that Messi’s fame in Europe is the equivalent of Kobe’s in the United States. Both superstar athletes are famous internationally with a lot of fans around the world and remain the face of their sports with both players currently on elite squads in Los Angeles and Barcelona.
Check out Kobe’s Turkish Airlines commercial from last year:
httpvhd://youtu.be/DlwJFNFbAUc
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