Huawei enlists Messi to reach global goals

Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi will have to ditch his Samsung phone for a device from Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co.

Huawei said on Friday it signed the 28-year-old FC Barcelona striker as a global ambassador to promote its consumer electronics and corporation. Messi had been endorsing Samsung Electronics Co's smartphones over the past years.

Shenzhen-based Huawei declined to disclose size of the two-year contract, but Spanish media are reporting it ranges from a whopping 5 million to 6 million euro ($5.6 to 6.7 million) a year.