Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player to own a billion dollar fortune

According to Bloomberg, Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player in the world to own assets worth over 1 billion USD.

Superstar Ronaldo becomes the first player to own a billion-dollar fortune - Photo: REUTERS

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has officially made history as the first footballer to reach the billion-dollar milestone.

A huge contract with Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr football team was a huge boost, catapulting him into the top echelon of world-class athletes, even in the final years of his playing career.

Ronaldo's career has always been associated with great records, from breaking every scoring milestone to record transfers.

However, this latest financial achievement has just been valued at 1.4 billion USD by Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

During two decades playing for top European clubs like Man United and Juventus, Ronaldo earned hundreds of millions of dollars from salary and lucrative brand contracts such as Nike and Armani.

But the biggest financial breakthrough will come in 2023, when he moves to Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr club. The new deal is said to be worth more than $400 million, making Ronaldo the athlete with the highest average annual salary in the world.

The attraction is that this income is completely tax-free in Saudi Arabia, along with perks such as club shares and use of private jets.

Before 2023, Ronaldo and his arch-rival Lionel Messi had similar income levels. However, Ronaldo's move to the Middle East has created a large gap, as Messi's guaranteed income at Inter Miami (MLS) in the past two seasons was only about 1/10 of Ronaldo's. However, Messi still has the ability to catch up thanks to an agreement to receive shares of Inter Miami Club when he retires.

Born into poverty, Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023. In addition, sponsorship deals, notably a decade-long deal with Nike worth nearly $18 million a year, have helped him add more than $175 million to his fortune.

In terms of investments, Ronaldo is currently focused mainly on his home country of Portugal. He owns a significant real estate portfolio. It includes a luxury villa under construction at the Quinta da Marinha golf resort (Lisbon) worth around 20 million euros, along with the Pestana CR7 hotel chain and his personal brand.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cristiano-ronaldo-tro-thanh-cau-thu-dau-tien-so-huu-tai-san-ty-do-20251008160124121.htm