French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane has been named a brand ambassador for Alpine, a surprise nomination that was met with a big round of applause at the team's presentation event in London on Thursday evening.
Zidane enjoyed a welcome reception as he stepped up onto the stage, having been praised by Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi for his winning mentality, one that will inspire the F1 outfit.
"I am very happy to be here today and happy to be part of the Alpine team," the World Cup winner told a baffled audience.
"I had the opportunity to meet Laurent, Davide, and the Alpine team at a Grand Prix and I think we had a good exchange and shared everything together," said Zidane.
Meet @AlpineF1Team's newest ambassador....🤩
French footballing legend Zinedine Zidane! 🤯⚽️#F1 pic.twitter.com/o4iuAhs9Xe
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 16, 2023
Alpine recruit and fan-boy Pierre Gasly struggled to contain his excitement at the prospect of working with one of his absolute idols.
"He’s been one of my idols since I was a kid," Gasly said. "I started playing football at five and just wanted to wear number 10, his jersey every time I was going to practice and training.
"Just to see him as an ambassador today and go to spend some time backstage before the event, I just attacked him with millions of questions about his career."
It's rumored that Ferrari has offered an ambassadorship to Zidane's Italian World Cup foe Marco Materazzi. But we'll give that piece of gossip a good headbutt… à la Zidane!
