Alibaba’s Taobao to host Lionel Messi in live-streaming e-commerce show with Chinese liquor influencer Li Xuanzhuo
- The legendary football player is expected to make an appearance on Taobao Live, a day before Argentina’s friendly match against Australia in Beijing
- His appearance is set to boost viewership on the Alibaba live-streaming e-commerce platform, which competes against Pinduoduo and ByteDance’s Douyin
Football superstar Lionel Messi is scheduled to show up in a live-streaming show on Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao Live platform on Wednesday evening, a day before Beijing is set to host a friendly match between last year’s World Cup champions Argentina and Australia.
The legendary football player will make a live appearance with Chinese influencer Li Xuanzhuo between 6pm to 9pm, according to a poster released by Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Alibaba did not disclose the commercial terms related to Messi’s appearance.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or award winner will join Li, who made a name for himself by once selling more than 600,000 bottles of liquor in three months, raking in over 50 million yuan (US$7 million).
Li, who made his live-streaming debut in 2019, is represented by Foshan Yowant Technology, a so-called multichannel network firm focusing on developing influencer content. Founded in 2010, it entered the live-streaming industry in 2018 and went public in Shenzhen the same year.
While details of Wednesday’s show have not been announced, a screenshot of a notice circulating on social media that was attributed to Yowant showed that the event will take place at Beijing’s Four Seasons Hotel, where Messi is staying. Some 120 security guards are reportedly stationed on site.