Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous athletes globally, and the person who tells you otherwise clearly has a problem.
He has been in high demand for years now, and his net worth reflects that. This is all thanks to his talent for soccer and the success he has built around him as a figure.
But is his salary such a theme to discuss? You bet! The athlete knows how much he is worth, and not only that; he is well aware of how to hit the market with sponsors, endorsements, and businesses.
Therefore, it’s time to take notes and see how much he is earning both on and off the field and see how it can help us succeed.
Who Is Cristiano Ronaldo?
Following the statement initially, people who love or know very little about soccer should know who he is by now.
However, it makes sense if they don’t know the entire history, and here is when we take part.
This soccer superstar was born on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. However, he grew up in San António, located in the same area.
His parents were José Dinis Aveiro and Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro.
During his early years, Cristiano didn’t have a simple life. Instead, he faced many hardships due to his family (his parents and three siblings) and the impoverished home.
It is known that his mother wanted to abort him for the same reason but was unable to since her doctor refused to perform the procedure.
Starting here, we have a young Cristiano who was keen on soccer the more he grew up. When he was 8, he began to play for Andorinha and dedicated a lot of his time to this sport to the point that when Cristiano was expelled from school after hitting a teacher with a chair, he decided to dedicate himself to it (and it sure paid off).
With Andorinha, he spent three years and then decided to play for Nacional, a local club.
Although he only spent two years with the club, his performance was outstanding, which allowed him to play for Sporting CP, one of the biggest clubs in Portugal.
Of course, he had to go through a trial, but he successfully passed, and the club signed him for £1.500.
But what we care about the most during his time in Sporting CP is how famous it made him.
Cristiano spent most of his early years in soccer with the club, which is why he played in all categories: under-16, under-17, under-18, and then moded to the B-team and senior team consequently.
He played in all categories throughout an entire season and not like other soccer players that usually climb accordingly.
During his debut in the senior team, he scored two goals which put him in the spotlight, and the rest of the matches he played with the club.
Was his prominence relevant at the time? Absolutely.
After several clubs were able to see him play, he received many offers from big-name clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal.
Liverpool was one of the favorite options on the table. However, Manchester United and his manager were eager to have Cristiano on the team and requested the player to Sporting for a year.
Then, did Cristiano play for a year? Not at all. His performance was outstanding to the point of wanting in as a long-term contract for several seasons.
He started playing in August 2003 and never left after that. Cristiano signed with Manchester United, which paid Sporting over £12 million for his transference.
During his stay at Manchester United, he became one of the best players in the world. Also, he brought the club its best seasons so far.
The man alone scored 84 goals in 196 league games, won three league titles, and the UEFA Champions League in 2008.
But leaving his club career for a bit, Ronaldo was integrated as part of the Portuguese national team for the 2006 World Cup and named the team’s captain the following year. However, it was followed by a defeat in the quarter-finals during the European Championships.
Cristiano Ronaldo x Real Madrid: Best Acquisition
Going back to his club career, he left Manchester United on the 2008-09 season and joined Real Madrid ahead of the 2009-10 season.
A long journey with the club starts here since the soccer player is mainly known for his dedication to the team, and Cristiano Ronaldo earned most of his achievements during his stay.
Real Madrid paid 94 million euros, making him the most expensive player at the time, which paid off after Ronaldo, in his first season with the team, scored 33 goals.
During the following season, he broke a record in the league’s history by scoring 40 goals and winning the Copa del Rey.
In 2012, Ronaldo’s story with the team continued to boost his professional career by helping it win the Spanish league title and making Real Madrid canter the championship with 100 points after scoring 60 goals.
For the following season, he didn’t fall behind since he scored 55 goals.
Cristiano might not have spent many years with the club, but he clearly left a mark when in 2013, he made himself and the club even more special by scoring 51 goals in the season and leading the club to win its 10th UEFA Champions League title.
For this UEFA Champions, he scored 17 goals, making him the top scorer and the player with the most goals in the competition’s history.
But it wasn’t all a happy story for Cristiano since his 2013-14 season was filled with injuries that made him miss games. He also hadn’t scored as many goals as usual, which lead to people saying he might be past his prime.
The 2014 seasons changed people’s minds when he scored 61 goals in total and became the fastest player to reach the milestone of 200 goals in the Spanish league in only 178 games.
Although every player has to face defeats, Ronaldo continued to make history until his final game with Real Madrid (2018 UEFA Champions League Final). He won with the team against Liverpool and became the tournament’s top scorer for six years straight.
The End of An Era: Welcome to Juventus!
After Cristiano Ronaldo decided to leave Real Madrid, he signed a four-year contract on July 10, 2018. The Italian club Juventus paid 100 million euros for his transference plus 12 million for fees and solidarity contributions.
During his first seasons with Juventus, he has scored 12 goals in the league, which is three less than he had with Real Madrid.
In addition to this, Cristiano has maintained his commitment and dedication to the team. He also helped it win the Italian Super Cup on January 16, 2019, for the 2018-19 season.
In 2019, Juventus won its eighth successive Serie A title, and Cristiano became the first player in history to win the England, Spanish, and Italy leagues.
Between 2020 and 2021, many things have happened for the player, and right now, there’s a big issue going on with this decision about staying in the team or going to a new one.
Cristiano Ronaldo Greatest Achievements
This outstanding and famous soccer player has sure come a long way, and if we take our time to go over each detail, we will take a while.
However, we don’t want to leave you without the essential details, so let’s go over “El Bicho” or “CR7” (his nicknames) highlights of his career for a bit:
- 2003-04: he won the FA Cup with Manchester United (MU); ended as runner-up in the UEFA European Champions with Portugal’s national team.
- 2004-05: FA Cup runner-up (MU).
- 2005-06: Football League Cup (MU). Fourth place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Portugal.
- 2006-07: Premier League champion (MU).
- From 2007 to 2008-09: 3 Premier League titles, FA Community, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, and 1 Football League Cup. One-time FA Cup and UEFA Champions League runner-up.
- 2010-12: Copa del Rey and La Liga titles with Real Madrid.
- 2012-16: 3 UEFA Champions League titles, 2 FIFA Club World Cup titles, 1 La Liga, 1 UEFA European Championship.
- 2017-18: UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, Supercoppa Italiana, Supercopa de España, and FIFA Club World Cup.
- With the Juventus, he has won 2 Supercoppa Italiana, 2 Serie A, and 1 Coppa Italia.
However, these are only collective titles and trophies. So far, Cristiano Ronaldo has won himself 5 Ballon d’Or and several awards as an individual player, best scorer, and holds the record for being the highest scorer in the history of Real Madrid with 338 goals.
Market Value & Net Worth: How Much Does CR7 Earn?
As you can see, it’s been a long journey, and he continues to make history no matter where he goes.
However, let’s get down to business: does CR7 get paid a lot for his career as a soccer player? He sure does.
Of course, everyone during their early years isn’t expected to earn a lot of money. Instead, it is a matter of putting yourself in the spotlight and says, “I’m here; you better get me while you can.”
You can say it is about making a statement, and he was able to do it when debuting in the Sporting CP senior team.
We won’t focus on his earnings during the first years since there isn’t much information about those, but we will go over what matters: when he truly started to make money.
But first, let’s leave this number here: according to Forbes, his net worth is at $120 million, just 10$ less than Lionel Messi.
He is ranks #2 as the wealthiest soccer player in the world and third for the highest-paid athletes.
Now, his money doesn’t come from playing football and winning games. He is also a public figure and something that makes him a lot of money alone.
For on-the-field earnings, he earns $70 million while off-the-field earnings reach $50 million.
For us (mere mortals), $20 million is a huge difference, but if we compare it to his earnings in games that include the salary and prize winnings, there isn’t a big difference.
Instead, you can notice he earns quite a lot even without playing.
His salary with his current team, Juventus, is worth an average of $64 million a year.
But what about the rest? Here’s when the fun begins.
Ronaldo has over 500 million followers on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter only.
Why is this important? Because he reportedly earns over $1.5 million per Instagram post. That’s a lot of money.
As for other deals like sponsors, endorsements, and partnerships,
Nike is his most prominent sponsor and has signed a lifetime contract with the brand, which led him to earn over $20 million annually.
In addition, he earns over $20 million more per year in commercial fees from different brands like Clear, Abbott, Unilever, and many more.
Now, we cannot forget about the businessman behind the player.
Cristiano is one of the many athletes in the world that knows someday he will have to stop playing games (unfortunately).
As a result, he has invested a lot in businesses like his CR7-branded clothing, accessories, and he is even working in a hotel empire.
Gyms are also included among his businesses, and although there aren’t many reports about his earnings, we can bet there’s a lot of money involved.
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