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Nexon shares behind-the-scenes stories from Icons Match with football legends

Published: 20 Sep. 2025, 17:49

Gareth Bale and Ronaldinho during the 2025 Icons Match [NEXON]

Around a week after the 2025 Nexon Icons Match united football legends on the field, Nexon shared behind-the-scenes stories such as what it was like to assemble the star-studded lineup and whether they have plans to host the match again next year.

This is the second year Nexon hosted the Icons Match, pitting football legends divided into two teams: Shield United made up of defenders and FC Spear made up of attackers. The event match on Sept. 13 drew 38,426 fans to the Seoul World Cup Stadium, and the main match held on Sept. 14 brought 64,855 spectators. The games were also streamed online, peaking at 600,000 concurrent viewers and attracting a total of 3.4 million viewers.

"What's important is that we combine football with Nexon's games to create the best possible experience for both fans of our games and football, and the Icons Match is what helps us achieve that," said Park Jeong-moo, senior vice president of Nexon.

Park also shared insights into what made the event successful for two years in a row.

“We focused on strengthening FC Spear, which lost last year, by bringing in players like Steven Gerrard, Gareth Bale and Ronaldinho to keep the teams balanced," said Park. "We also brought in world-class football managers Arsène Wenger and Rafael Benítez.”

According to Park, Ronaldinho was the toughest player to invite.

Park Jeong-moo, senior vice president of Nexon [NEXON]

"There was a similar event that was set to bring him to Korea that fell through, so participation wasn’t guaranteed," said Park. "We believed that building trust was key, so we sent people to Brazil to negotiate details in person and were able to secure a deal."

"Even after signing the deal, communication wasn't always easy and we couldn't fully let our guard down until he actually arrived in Korea. In the end, he was committed to the game, the fans enjoyed it and he also left satisfied."

Lee Yoon-kyu, senior manager at Nexon, takes a photo with Ronaldinho when meeting him in Brazil to invite him to the Icons Match [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lee Yoon-kyu and Choi In-gi from Nexon's FC Marketing Team 1 went the extra mile to visit Ronaldinho’s home in Brazil. Lee, who formerly worked at the Korea Football Association, was fluent in Portuguese and two other languages and played a crucial role in bringing Ronaldinho on board.

When Franck Ribery couldn't participate due to personal reasons, Nexon quickly reached out to Robert Pires.

"From first reaching out to him to signing the contract, all of that took just four hours," said Park.

Fans were also surprised by the appearance of Pierluigi Collina, a legendary former football referee, who officiated the match.

"We actually tried to invite him last year, but couldn't because scheduling was difficult since Collina is the Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee," said Park. "We kept updating our player roster while focusing on evoking nostalgia among football fans and finally got a positive response that we agreed to join when around 80 percent of the roster was finalized."

When asked if Nexon will also host the Icons Match next year, Park said that no decisions have been made yet.

"Right now, there’s no time to think that far ahead," said Park. "We poured everything into making this year's event a success and plans for next year aren't decided yet."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK RIN [[email protected]]