Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most popular football players in the world at the moment. He is also one of the richest footballers in the world at the moment.
Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a professional football player from Portugal who plays for the English premier league side, Manchester United, and the Portugal national team. He is also the captain of the Portugal national team. He was born in Madeira, Portugal on February 5th, 1985. He is the youngest of three siblings. Ronaldo’s father was a gardener for the city while his mother was a cook. From the age of 14, the young Ronaldo made it a point to chase his dream of becoming a football player and joined a local club in his hometown known as Nacional in 1995. He later moved to one of the successful clubs in Portugal, Sporting CP after he passed a trial with the club.
Ronaldo later graduated from the Sporting CP youth team and got promoted to the first team. He scored twice on his debut for Sporting amid some dazzling performances in subsequent games that saw him being scouted by clubs in England such as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United.
The young Ronaldo decided to sign for Manchester United and the rest they say is history. He went on to win his first champions league title with the club in 2008. After spending six years at Manchester United, Ronaldo transferred to Spanish giants, Real Madrid, for a whopping $90 million. This made him the most expensive footballer at the time.
Ronaldo has been labeled as one of the best players to ever step foot on a football pitch and has constantly been pitted against PSG star, Lionel Messi, as to who is the best among the two. Some people believe that Ronaldo is the best footballer in history while others believe that it is Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most consistent football players in history alongside Messi, who is 35, and Swedish star, Ibrahimovic who is 41. At an age when most players fall off their fame and talent and gradually drift out of the limelight by signing for lesser clubs before eventually retiring, Cristiano Ronaldo has been consistent and still manages to perform at the top level at 37 years old.
However, when it comes to popularity, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most popular sporting athlete ever with more than 500 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. He has more than 400 million followers on Instagram alone and is the first person to reach that feat in the world. This makes him the most followed person on social media. When it comes to breaking records, he has also been ahead of every footballer on the planet. Ronaldo broke the record held by retired Brazilian star, Pele, for the most goals scored by footballers in competitions after he hit a hat trick against Cagliari while playing for Juventus in Italy to send his tally to 770 goals. This is just one of the many records he has set and broken since the start of his football career. After his contract at Juventus expired, Ronaldo decided to return to Manchester United and help the team regain its former glory.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also won 5 Ballon D’or awards, putting him second behind Lionel Messi who has won 6. Ronaldo and Messi are the only players in history to have won the prestigious award more than two times
Born on 5th February 1985 in Madeira, the Portugal football legend is now 37 years.
- Net worth
Ronaldo’s talent and serious work attitude have made him one of the best players in football history. It has also made him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo’s estimated net worth is pegged at $500 million. His earnings in football over the entirety of his career have also surpassed the billion-dollar mark. He earns more than $34million a year at Manchester United.
- Endorsements
When it comes to endorsements, Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the player with the highest endorsements in world football. The Manchester United star has a lifetime contract with Nike worth $1 billion. Apart from this, he has been made the face of many big brands in the world and this has made him the highest-paid football player in the world. These endorsements have helped him to attain the spot as the richest football player in the world at the moment.
- Investments
Ronaldo is not just an exceptional footballer. The Portugal captain is also business-minded and has invested the millions he made in football into various ventures. The Manchester United star is into hotels and has unveiled his hotel line, Pestana CR7 Hotels, in collaboration with the Pestana Hotel group, in various countries such as Spain and Italy.
He also has his line of men’s underwear and perfume brands. Apart from these, Cristiano has various other investments such as gyms that continue to rake in millions for him outside of football.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also filmed several ads for French supercar maker, Bugatti.
- Luxuries
When you make big money like Cristiano Ronaldo, you have to live big as well and that is exactly what the Manchester United star does. Ronaldo owns various mansions in Spain and England. The player also owns a private jet that he uses for his air travels and has a fleet of expensive vehicles such as:
- Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse
- Bugatti Chiron
- Lamborghini Aventador
- Maserati GranCabrio
- Rolls Royce Cullinan
- McLaren Senna
- Mercedes Benz S65 AMG Coupe
- Aston Martin DBS
- Bentley Flying Spur
- Porsche 911 Turbo S
- Koenigsegg CXX
- Range Rover Sport SVR
Cristiano Ronaldo is also rumored to be among the list of 10 lucky people who will be receiving the special edition Bugatti Centodieci priced at $10 million. He was also gifted a Cadillac Escalade by his partner, Georgina Rodriguez. Ronaldo also reportedly owns a $2 million Ferrari Monza.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s car collection is valued at an estimated $21 million.
Apart from cars, the football star also owns some expensive watches and jewelry. He is normally seen wearing small diamond earrings that cost thousands of dollars. Ronaldo also has an expensive timepiece collection from famous brands such as Jacob&Co, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, Rolex, and Patek Philippe. Some of these watches owned by the player cost more than a million dollars and are limited edition pieces made in small numbers.
- Family
Cristiano Ronaldo is not yet married. However, the star has 4 children and is in a relationship with Spanish model and dancer, Georgina Rodriguez since 2017.
