Chinese smartphone maker Huawei on Friday annonced that soccer superstar Lionel Messi is its new global brand ambassador.

The 28-year-old FC Barcelona striker, who recently inked a deal with Huawei, will help in promoting the company's consumer electronics and corporation.

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"Just like our brand which strives for excellence and innovates to better itself to reach newer heights of greatness, Messi is the epitome of perseverance, excellence and commitment," Allen Wang, Huawei Indian CBG President, said.

He Gang, the head of the smartphone unit of Huawei, revealed that brand awareness for the company will be faster now that Messi is on their team. Together, Huawei will attempt to seize a bigger portion of the smartphone industry outside the Chinese market.

This is very attractive for Huawei's ambition to expand overseas to Europe, Asia and Latin America, as only three out of its 10 devices are currently being sold in foreign markets, Nicole Peng, Canalys China research director, said.

Meanwhile, Huawei refused to disclose the worth of the 2-year contract, but Spanish media claims it is about 5 to 6 million euro per year. Messi used to be the brand ambassador of Samsung Electronics Co. He is also a global ambassador of Tata Motors.

In 2015, Huawei shipped around 108 million smartphones. It quickly went up the ladder, becoming the third biggest player next to Samsung (21.4 percent) and Apple (18.7 percent). This year, the Chinese company is targeting a 300 percent increase in smartphone sales.

Tagslionel messi, Huawei, brand ambassador, smartphone industry