Asda offers ‘jinxed’ World Cup contract to Portuguese star

Asda is to make a cheeky offer to Portuguese football star Luis Figo to become the face of its TV advertising campaigns, ahead of his team’s World Cup quarter-final with England on Saturday.

The retailer says it is to contact Figo’s agents as part of a tongue-in-cheek plan to try to extend its World Cup marketing injury jinx. England strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen have both suffered injuries since appearing in Asda’s ads before and during the tournament.

Rooney broke his foot prior to the World Cup, but has since returned to the side. Owen, who replaced Rooney, has now been forced out of the competition with a damaged knee.

A spokesman for Asda says: “We originally had Rooney kick off our World Cup campaign, then we had to call up Michael Owen. “He took a tumble, so the big question was who to use next. We had the idea of using a Portugal player, and Figo is seen as one of the most likely to score against England. We want to sign him up, get him to do some publicity shots and then get injured in training.”

Asda, which claims to have had “massive” sales during the tournament, has also dispatched a bulk order of Setlers Tums to the England team hotel following David Beckham’s on-pitch nausea during the second half of Sunday’s victory over Ecuador.