Trending in China: Lionel Messi endorses Chinese Baijiu, but reality disappoints some fans

Last month, a limited edition Chishui River Baijiu signed and endorsed by Messi was officially launched on JD.com. The hashtag #MessiSellingBaijiu trended on Weibo for a time.

However, the reality of the offering left many consumers bewildered and disappointed, largely by the less-limited quantity of Messi Chishui River Baijiu.

Many netizens initially thought the batch was limited to 10,000 bottles, but it turned out to be 10,000 cases. This diminished the rarity for Baijiu collectors. Similarly, the value of the so-called "Messi signed and endorsed" was much lower than initially believed as the bottles weren’t personally signed by the football star, rather just a print of his autograph. Additionally, to have a chance to receive a jersey signed by Messi, customers had to place an order for at least 10 cases and be among the top five in terms of payment time.

Post from Weibo account @梅西 LeoMessi10. The promotion of the liquor endorsed by Messi took place on Weibo

Chishui River's JD flagship store