Mbappé leads Messi and Ronaldo in registered trademarks

Whether Kylian Mbappé is the "best player in the world" or not is a difficult question to answer given the competition between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

But when it comes to intellectual property protection, Mbappé is already ahead of the two previous Ballon d'Or winners, ahead of his anticipated move to Real Madrid. 

The PSG forward, whose name and company logo are among his seven EU trademarks, is a testament to his great commercial strength. He also owns the rights to his famous cross-armed goal celebration posture. As per the European Union Intellectual Property Office, each of Messi and Ronaldo have six registered trademarks. 

Additionally, Mbappé has recorded two of his well-known sayings: "Le football, il a changé (Football has changed)" and "Moi, tum'parles pas d'âge (You don’t talk to me about age)” for products including electronic games, mobile apps, posters, handbags, footwear, cosmetics or jewelry. 

An EU trademark gives exclusive rights in all EU countries, a market of almost 500 million consumers. It also protects owners against counterfeiting and fraud. 

The EU body said Mbappé filed two more applications in February. He is topping the list of EU trademarks owned by soccer players. 

Mbappé's “Football has changed” quote became viral on social media two years ago. The business-savvy Frenchman uttered it during a press conference after he was asked on image rights and sports sponsorship following his refusal to take part in a marketing event with the French national team. 

While registering trademarks is not unusual in soccer, women's players are, however, invisible in the European IP protection sphere. 

“While many of the professional football players in the top European teams own at least one EU trademark, there are no women among them,” the EU office said. “Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí, Marta, Alex Morgan, Caroline Graham…they are all stars but they have not yet started to play the IP game.” 

When it comes to clubs, “the king of Europe is Real Madrid,” the EU office said. The Spanish giant owns 33 EU trademarks and 24 designs – among them, the shape of the benches' seats of the Bernabeu stadium.