How Ronaldo built up his staggering £191m fortune
How Ronaldo the global mogul built up a fortune
He is, although Lionel Messi fans would argue, the best footballer on the planet. So it shouldn’t be surprising in an age of untold worldwide wealth that Cristiano Ronaldo is also the richest.
What might come as a shock though is the extent of the fortune the 31-year-old Real Madrid megastar has amassed throughout his glittering career.
He has featured before on rich lists, compiled through educated guesswork, but now we know the true value of Ronaldo’s worldwide empire of business and sponsorship interests that backs up his football career.
The total is £191million, a figure released by his agents yesterday in response to accusations of tax evasion in which he was alleged to have moved £53.4m to the British Virgin Islands at the end of 2014.
His management company denied those claims, and to back that up made public the front page of his tax return containing the £191m figure for his total assets.
‘Cristiano Ronaldo communicated to the Spanish Tax Agency on 30 March all the information about his assets, as can be shown in the attached documentation,’ said the statement from his management company.
‘The player has been aware of his tax obligations from the beginning of his professional career in all of the countries in which he has resided and has not and has never had any issue with the tax authorities of any of those countries.
‘This communication, which was not required by law, constitutes irrefutable proof that Cristiano Ronaldo and his representatives are in good faith and co-operate with the authorities in a spirit of transparency and compliance with legality.’
So where does the £191m come from? Brand CR7 is about so much more than what the two-time Ballon d’Or winner does on a football pitch, not that he isn’t handsomely paid for his efforts for Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants rewarded their star player with a new, five-year deal in November, a contract which takes him past his 36th birthday. That deal is worth £365,000 a week, after tax. Then there is his 13-year association with Nike.
Reports in America say he has signed a £1billion ‘lifetime agreement’ similar to that of basketball star LeBron James.
Ronaldo, who has been rested for Real’s game against Deportivo La Coruna today ahead of the Club World Cup, has replaced David Beckham as the face of Armani and his ripped physique has donned billboards on the famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. There are also endorsements with Tag Heuer, Coca-Cola, Herbalife, Jacob and Co, Toyota, KFC, Samsung and Konami. And then there is CR7, his personal brand of underwear which has even taken on a range of socks.
Hotels are another venture for the Portugal euro 2016 winner.
A £54m investment has seen Ronaldo partner with the Pestana Hotel Group to launch four hotels. Prices at his Lisbon edition start from £176 for a one-night stay, while the ‘CR7 suite’ sets you back £882.
Indeed, there is very little the former Manchester United winger does not have covered, much like his Old Trafford and Bernabeu predecessor Beckham.
Both, for example, now have their own fragrance and a bottle of Ronaldo’s Legacy: The Private edition costs up to £55.
And why wouldn’t he take advantage of that muscle-bound torso as well?
Ronaldo stars in an advert for Training Gear Six Pad, a system that promises to deliver ‘a stronger, more beautiful body by sending electrical signals to directly stimulate and exercise the muscles’.
What it does, in fact, is send money directly to Ronaldo’s bank account. At this rate he could become the first sportsman in history to get a call from his branch manager to inform him his account is full.