LaLiga clubs are increasingly announcing player signings with content that is original, creative and entertaining for fans.
As they look to connect with new audiences around the world, the clubs believe these announcements are a good way to reinforce their brand value.
Valencia CF and Villarreal CF are among the many teams to have stood out and made an impact during the January transfer window.
The transfer market is a time when football fans can get excited about the arrival of great players to their teams, but it’s also a moment for clubs, through their communications and marketing departments, to use ingenuity and creativity to announce these signings.
Clubs are becoming experts at stirring up this enthusiasm, even before actual football matches take place. In the most recent transfer market in January, Spanish teams looked for the most impactful and original ways to present their new signings to the world, as they had already started doing in the past few years. The moment in which a new player is announced has become an opportunity to connect with football fans from all over the world.
Mestalla magic through Bryan Gil and Harry Potter
While every player announcement is a chance to attract global attention and to surprise and motivate a fanbase, the originality put into Valencia CF’s publication about acquiring Bryan Gil was particularly eye-catching.
The January signing of the player from Tottenham Hotspur in London, the city that is the launchpad for the magic of Harry Potter, was announced by Oliver Phelps, a Valencia CF fan and an actor in the film series, playing George Weasley. In a video, the actor explains that he has “seen some amazing magic come out of London” and that there is now “a magician on the wing whose destination is the most magical temple on earth, Mestalla”.
At the VCF MEDIA department, which is responsible for content and communications at Valencia CF, the clear narrative for this signing was magic and they were delighted to have Phelps’ participation. “This allowed us to surprise and move closer to a global audience, generating a major impact in media outlets around the world,” those working in that department explained.
The relationship between Valencia CF and Phelps is nothing new, as it started at a Harry Potter event that took place in the city in 2019. Recalling that introduction, the club said: “We made the most of that and invited Oliver and his brother James to Mestalla, where they were able to get to know the club in detail and where they fell in love with Valencia CF. They were able to attend and enjoy the final of the Copa del Rey that we won in our centenary year and they now have an extensive relationship with the club, having become fans and promotors of Valencianismo internationally.”
The Bryan Gil example isn’t the only case of Valencia CF looking to make a splash with a transfer announcement, as Los Che aim to surprise their fanbase with every new signing they make. On this, the club pointed out that: “There is a desire for innovation in virtually all aspects of all areas of all departments. This attitude, which comes from President Anil Murthy himself, is what pushes the entire VCF MEDIA team to try to do something different.”
Lo Celso brings mate and magic to Villarreal CF
At Villarreal CF, the Argentines Gero Rulli and Juan Foyth welcomed their compatriot Giovani Lo Celso to the club with a charming video. The pair were looking for someone to make “mate”, the traditional Argentine drink, something former player Rogelio Funes Mori used to be in charge of, and then, after searching for “someone magical” for a few moments, Foyth states that he knows a “really good left-footer” that he met in London. They speak on a video call and new signing Lo Celso promises to bring mate to the city.
Looking back on that creative content, Hernán Sanz, the Communications Director at Villarreal CF, said: “We used Gero Rulli and Juan Foyth as ‘actors’ in an entertaining way to show a closer and more human side. We were looking for interaction and identification with a significant and well-known market, the Argentine market, which has a great historical connection to our club.”
According to Sanz, every time there is a need for a special announcement, they try to create different and original content to achieve the greatest reach possible. He continued: “It can be a good opportunity to strengthen value as a brand. The goal is for our fans to be informed and entertained and for them to interact with the content we make, while any football fan might want to follow Villarreal CF on social media because they find the content entertaining. The objective is to grow, to achieve interaction and to bring greater visibility to the club and its philosophy.”
At Villarreal CF, they understand that these kinds of campaigns can place the club in front of new audiences of different ages, which is important. Sanz added: “By producing content that is informative and, above all, entertaining, you open up the market and find new avenues to expand the brand. We’re not aiming for all who see it to become Villarreal CF supporters, but we do want them to know about the club a little better each time and to establish interaction and affinity.”
With this, Villarreal CF are witnessing significant growth on their social media profiles, with 4.3 million followers across their channels. In January, they achieved an engagement total of 1,805,945 and a total value of €918,857.92 for their brands. The platform where they have the most followers is Instagram (with 1,161,000), while TikTok (with 410,000) is the one to have grown the most in the shortest amount of time, thanks to entertaining and trending content, with 132% growth in the month of December alone. “With our content on social media, we’re getting across our identity as a brand,” Sanz concluded.
Reaching fans by being creative, current and humorous
Real Betis are another club to have made important moves, renewing the contracts of players like Nabil Fekir, Rodri, Borja Iglesias and Álex Moreno. With the renewal of Rodri’s contract, for example, the club worked with Argentine comedians Jero Freixas and José de Cabo to present this news to their fans, while they collaborated with Spanish influencer Ibai Llanos to announce the extension for Borja Iglesias. This was very well-received by fans and increased engagement.
Meanwhile, RCD Mallorca made an impact when announcing the signing of Kosovo player Vedat Muriqi by using the FIFA video game and by joking about the metaverse. That was just one of the many examples of LaLiga clubs turning transfer announcements into a new artform.
This article originally appeared LaLiga’s Global Futbol newsletter.
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