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To a man, they have gone home before the quarter-finals.

Spain, unfortunately for Ronaldo, than , with whom he appeared in the ad. The plans to erect a silver statue of Ronaldo in Lisbon are now probably on hold.

Similarly, Wayne Rooney showed far more commitment and effort in chasing back to stop Ribery's effort in the fantasy land of the ad than he did in real life on the pitches of South Africa.

Another two players who featured in the ad were Ronaldinho and Theo Walcott, who .

But let's not make this all about one company. Pepsi's Lionel Messi is having a fine tournament - Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba (again) less so.

But is singling out individuals as hugely marketable stars have an impact on them?

Certainly, they help raise the profile of football globally. Multi-national companies pay large amounts of cash to these players in order to get the right to have them endorse their product; this is why image rights become such sticking points in transfer negotiations.

For the player it is great - they get money and their face on bottles of pop. For the company, they get the endorsement of an instantly-recognisable national icon.

But can it also be a problem? Might such deals cause resentment amongst other players - particularly ones in less glamorous positions? .

What do you think - do players have every right to make the most from their brief careers? Or does it seem like hubris to appear in such adverts before a thing has been proved on the pitch?