Huawei signs Messi as its global ambassador to enlarge market

He Gang, the head of Huawei Technologies' smartphone unit, and Liu Tao, the Chinese company's CEO for Latin American consumer business, take selfies with Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi in Barcelona on Thursday. The company has signed the 28-year-old FC Barcelona striker as its global ambassador.

周四，华为智能手机部门负责人鹤岗以及中国公司拉丁美洲消费金融业务总裁刘涛和阿根廷足球明星梅西在巴塞罗那签约。公司已经签署了28岁的巴萨前锋作为全球代言人。

Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi will have to ditch his Samsung phone for a device from Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. Huawei said on Friday it signed the 28-year-old FC Barcelona striker as a global ambassador to promote its consumer electronics and corporation. Messi had been endorsing Samsung Electronics Co's smartphones over the past years.

阿根廷超级足球明星梅西将不得不抛弃自己的三星手机，转而使用中国科技巨头华为科技公司的设备。周五，华为说它签约了28岁的巴萨前锋作为全球代言人，以促进它的消费电子产品和公司。在过去几年里，梅西一直支持三星电子产品公司的智能手机。

Shenzhen-based Huawei declined to disclose size of the two-year contract, but Spanish media are reporting it ranges from a whopping 5 million to 6 million euro ($5.6 to 6.7million) a year.

位于深圳的华为公司拒绝披露两年合同的酬金数目，但是西班牙媒体报道，这一数额巨大，每年约500万欧元到600万欧元。

He Gang, head of Huawei's smartphone unit, said Messi's involvement will quickly boost the brand awareness for the company, which is trying to seize a larger share of the smartphone markets outside of China.

华为智能手机部门鹤岗说，梅西的加入将很快提高公司的产品知名度，这将试图抓住国外更大的智能手机市场。

"We are looking at a long-term partnership with Messi because Huawei and Messi desire victory," he said.

他说："我们正在寻求和梅西的长期合作关系，因为华为和梅西渴望胜利。"

Messi, who just led Barcelona in its 3-1 victory over London's Arsenal FC on Thursday,said his goal has always been to win everything he competes for.

周四，梅西刚刚带领巴塞罗那队以3-1战胜了伦敦阿森纳队，他说他的目标就是赢得所有自己竞争的东西。

Huawei was the world's third-largest smartphone vendor by shipments as of last year. But it held only an 8.1 percent share of the global market by 2015, lagging far behind Apple's 18.7 percent and Samsung's 21.4 percent.

根据去年的出货量，华为是世界第三大智能手机供应商。但是，2015年，它的全球市场份额只占8.1%，落后于苹果的18.7%和三星的21.4%。

Nicole Peng, research director of Canalys China, said Huawei is planning to explore overseas markets to expand its global presence this year because about seven of every 10 devices it sells go to the Chinese market, where demand has stopped growing. Huawei is expected to make a hefty investment in overseas marketing this year, she said.

科纳仕中国研究主任Nicole Peng说，今年，华为正在计划开发海外市场，扩大自己的全球存在感，因为华为每十个设备中的七个都在国内出售，而国内的需求已经停止增长了。她说，华为今年有望在海外做巨额投资。

Chinese technology firms have paid large amounts to hire celebrities and sponsor popular events to aid their overseas expansion.

中国科技公司已经花费巨资雇佣名人，资助流行事业来拓展海外事业。

In 2013, Beijing-based Lenovo Group recruited Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher to promote its tablet products. In October, smartphone maker Vivo Communication Technology Co of Guangdong took on a two-season sponsorship of the Indian Premier League, the most-watched cricket tournament in India, to tap into the rapidly growing handset market.

2013年，总部位于北京的联想集团雇佣好莱坞演员艾什顿库奇以促进它的产品。十月，智能手机生产商广东Vivo科技公司着手资助印度超级联赛两年，这是印度收视率最高的板球赛，以此进入印度快速发展的手机市场。