Christian Pulisic had a World Cup to forget.
The U.S. men's national team star had to leave his team's 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 last Monday with a leg injury. Pulisic was later diagnosed with a bone bruise and a microfracture in his leg. He was disappointed by the result, while much of the soccer fan base ripped him online.
"Tough to find the words. I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who believed. The support carried us all the way through. It simply wasn’t good enough from us in the end and I wanted to deliver so much more.. I still feel blessed to be a part of this team. The memories this summer will last a lifetime. It’s just the start for us and for this sport in America. 🇺🇸," he shared online.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/David Gonzales
Pulisic, who entered the World Cup as the U.S.'s most popular player, has quickly become one of the most-hated athletes in America right now.
Front Office Sports believes that Pulisic's wide endorsement portfolio, which includes some huge brands, is at "serious risk."
Pulisic brings in roughly $20 million annually in endorsements.
"Unfortunately, Pulisic is the biggest sports marketing dud since Reebok’s 'Dan & Dave' campaign for the 1992 Summer Olympics. That could spell serious challenges for Team Pulisic’s ability to attract corporate sponsors before the next World Cup. As an endorser, Pulisic hauls in an estimated $20 million annually from brands such as Puma, Volkswagen, and Hershey. The problem for him is that after being blamed for Team USA’s humiliating 4-1 loss to Belgium last Monday, the TV spots featuring him kept coming—and coming—all week," Michael McCarthy reported.
"Another potential issue for Pulisic with marketers: He has the skills on the pitch, but he doesn’t have the personality off it. Pulisic doesn’t have the magnetism of other soccer star endorsers such as Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, or David Beckham. It always feels like he’d rather be doing something else—anything else—than speaking to a camera. Even in the Rocky-like Degree commercial that allegedly explores his personal 'dream,' he appears passive and uninterested. His line delivery is flat, almost bored."
ESPN, meanwhile, comes to Pulisic's defense
ESPN analyst Craig Burley came to Pulisic's defense, calling out many of his critics.
"It seems to me it's almost a personal attack on an individual rather than an analysis of the football that's gone before," he said on air.
"It's people from FOX. It's the same people that when Flo Balogun was told he could play, they were on that network, and they embarrassed the (expletive) out of themselves for about half an hour. It's embarrassing." "
They all danced around the fact that it was wrong, and said, this is the greatest decision in the history of U.S. sports, Flo Balogun's going to play. That's how embarrassing these people are. They have no shame."
"You're criticizing a player for not carrying a team, no further than you yourself never carried a team."
"Look, do I think he's perfect? No. But I'll tell you one thing about Christian Pulisic, and going back to [Landon] Donovan and one or two others, at least he's had the stomach to go to Europe over a long, long period of time and forge out a pretty good career for himself at Dortmund, at Chelsea, at Milan."
The 2030 World Cup is a ways away, but it'll be interesting to see what Pulisic's role is like next time.
