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May 23, 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest sports stars in history. At 40, he is earning more than ever with a deal at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr and making millions off the pitch. Below is a discussion of where he has made and continues to earn his money.
The Forbes Rich List is the definitive guide on who earns the most money, across the globe. This is then broken down into various categories, and for the third year in a row, Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the list of the highest-earning athletes. This is the fifth time he has reached the pinnacle of the list, and he is joined by a host of superstars who all earned a combined sum of $1.4 billion. At a current earning total of $275 million this year alone, where did he make the most money?
Cristiano Ronaldo - Faded
Of the $225 million Ronaldo has earned from sports this year, he has earned a further $50 million off the pitch. Just as he has done throughout his career, a large portion of this has come through various endorsements and sponsorships. The list of his dealings is far too vast to mention here. Everything from suitcases to cryptocurrency has been endorsed.
One of the most prominent deals has been from sports brand Nike. He signed this with his first transfer to Manchester United in 2003. This deal became a lifetime contract in 2016 and was reported to be worth $1 billion.
He has also been a prime target for the sports betting and gambling industry. As the most prominent face in the Premier League, now a global league watched by millions, there really was no one better. From 2010 to 2020, mobile gambling also gained huge popularity as the viewership of the league grew. Not only were sites becoming safer and more usable, but providers like 1xbet Opiniones were allowing people across the continent such as yourself to bet for free using bonuses. With more markets to bet on, it was a boost for sport and the sector. This eventually led to the industry being valued at $77.18bn per year.
With regard to gambling, he has worked as an ambassador for several betting organizations. Currently, he is affiliated with several sportsbook brands on the African continent. It did not just stop at betting either. He has also worked with prominent poker brands. Each of these is estimated to have gained him between $7 and $10 million per campaign.
Just like his sponsorship deals, Ronaldo’s investments are too vast to mention. This year alone they have grown even further. He added the wearable tech brand Whoop to his portfolio. Ronaldo then invested in a porcelain company named Vista Alegre, followed by Bioniq, a supplement brand.
Many of his self-pioneered ventures come under his CR7 lifestyle brand, the seven being the iconic shirt number he wore for Manchester United. This began as a simple men's underwear brand. It then developed into footwear, and fragrances created in collaboration with Eden Perfumes. A range of eyewear soon followed.
You may have seen one of his most viral moments was in 2020 at a press conference for the World Cup. When sitting in front of journalists, he removed two bottles of Coca-Cola and told people to drink water. Of course, he does also have a water brand.
CR7 has made inroads into the fitness sector. In 2017 they signed up with Crunch Fitness to launch a new gym network. Based primarily in Spain and Portugal, they were later followed by the Erakulis Health App. This can be used by individuals, professionals, and businesses to improve nutrition and fitness.
Finally, CR7 is now known across the world due to its hotel chain. Known as Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels, they opened their inaugural venture in 2016 as a joint outing with Pestana Hotels. Initially, they were based solely in the Portugal region. Since then they have expanded to Amsterdam, New York, and a host of other major cities.
It is unknown exactly how much of his $50 million off-the-field earnings CR7 contributes to. With so many different sectors, it is also likely to fluctuate widely.
While not strictly earnings, Ronaldo does have an $80 million property portfolio spread out across the globe. One of these is the Portugal mansion in Cascais which he calls home. This is worth £22million and is the place featured in many of his YouTube videos. He also has a property in the capital Lisbon, which is a penthouse apartment worth £6 million.
Added to this are his homes purchased when working at various football clubs. His Madrid property is the only one that has a known rental income, which works out at £16,000 per month. In Dubai, he has now purchased a mansion that is on its own seahorse-shaped island. He also has a home in Marbella and Turin.
Most interesting was his former New York property. This was situated in Trump Tower and had views over Central Park. It cost £18.5million and was reportedly sold at a loss. However, all these properties will be gaining money through appreciation even if they are not being rented out, also adding to his wealth.
As of May this year, Ronaldo has 939 million social media followers across his channels, which are YouTube, X, Instagram and Facebook. Instagram alone has 500 million followers, 8 million of which followed him from the Middle East when he moved to Al-Nassr. This has likely risen since the time of writing. While this also overlaps with his sponsorship deals, as he is often required to advertise on his socials, it can be a source of income in itself.
It is hard to get an exact estimate of how much he earns from this. However, a case study can be found in a photoshoot he did with Lionel Messi for Louis Vuitton before the 2022 World Cup. A picture of the pair playing chess, reached 1.2 billion people. Conservative estimates put him as the highest-paid influencer on Instagram, eclipsing both Messi and stars such as Dwayne Johnson. For a post on his socials, you are looking at a cool $2.4 million.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Ronaldo has recently been working hard to build a YouTube channel. It launched in August last year, and he became the first person to reach 1 million followers within 90 minutes. This number has since risen to 15.4 million.
At first, the channel did contain videos of him and his family. Since then, he has begun to branch out, even collaborating with high-profile social media stars, namely MrBeast. The latter is the most subscribed YouTuber with 331 million followers. In February he then streamed a live Padel tournament in Riyadh. It was reported that 600,000 viewers tuned in.
Despite all the high-profile deals and investments, Ronaldo would have had none of this without his core passion: Football. It is this that has made him the real star, with many labeling him the greatest player of all time.
Even at his first club, Sporting CP, it is estimated that he was on around €1 million a year, which works out at just over $1.13 million. This was followed by a move to Manchester United in 2003, where he was on £1.82million-a-year. However, by no means was this static. By 2007 he had signed a contract extension, despite interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. While the sum was undisclosed, most reports put it at around €375,000 per month.
Ronaldo then took a move to Europe. While the Premier League is a global spectacle, this must have opened him up to the eyes of a much wider audience, increasing the reach of his personal brand, especially when you look at the clubs he moved to: First Real Madrid, then Juventus. At the latter he was estimated to be on €1,000,000 a month, later moving to €2,100,000 per month. At Juventus, this increased to €2,600,000 a month.
He would then return to Manchester United in 2021, where he would earn £385,000 a week. The media widely reported that for this move he had taken a £6 million pay cut.
At 40 years old, you would think that Ronaldo’s earnings would be declining. Yet so strong is his brand, that they are going up. Saudi team Al-Nassr now pays him $225 million per year to play for their team. This is a country throwing huge amounts of money at sports. Messi is earning $135 million to promote tourism in the country, while Karim Benzema is raking in $104 million playing for Al-Ittihad.
Most sports stars are at their most valuable when playing. Yet Cristiano Ronaldo used his wealth and fame at the crucial point to invest, in both his businesses and his brand. This has bore fruit in later life, where he is making more on the pitch alone than he ever has.
He also shows no signs of slowing down. As an ambassador of the sport, he will always be valuable, much like David Beckham. You may see him continue to make money from endorsements and sponsorships for a long time to come.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on May 26, against Al Fateh, for the Saudi Super League. You can watch Al Fateh vs Al Nassr, Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad, PSG vs Reims, Tottenham vs Manchester United, Southampton vs Arsenal and Fulham vs Man City, all matches provided from our live streaming game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Fateh vs Al Nassr kick-off time (26-05-2025):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+7: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+4.30: 23:30
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 19:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / youtube.com / thesun.co.uk
