According to Football Leaks, companies have the ability to “hire” Cristiano Ronaldo, but with a staggering price tag attached to the deal.
Having made his name playing for teams such as Sporting CP, Manchester United, Juventus, Real Madrid, and the Portugal national team, Ronaldo, who is now 40 years old, is currently playing for Al-Nassr.
Off the pitch, he is one of the most recognisable figures on the planet. He has over 650 million followers on Instagram, making him the most followed person on the platform. This is in addition to his generational ability on the pitch, which he possesses.
His popularity has enabled him to amass a fortune through brand deals, which he adds to the reported annual wage of £167.9 million that he receives from his club, Al-Nassr.
And if all of this wasn’t enough, he also makes a staggering amount of money from another venture.
With the publication of their eye-opening book Football Leaks, journalists Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger of Der Spiegel uncovered information regarding the amount of money required to hire the five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or.
It is revealed in the book that Mobily, a Saudi telecoms company, has entered into an agreement with Multisports & Image Management, Ronaldo’s Irish image rights company.
They would receive four and a half hours of his time, which would include a photo shoot, five shirts that were signed, and two plugs across his social media channels. It is estimated that he earns approximately £1.6 million for each sponsored post that he makes.
Despite the fact that Mobily was permitted to use photographs that were taken on the day in question, the advertising efforts were limited to the Middle East and North Africa region because the publication was restricted to that particular region.
It is rumoured that Ronaldo and his representatives charged the company an astounding sum of nine hundred and twenty thousand pounds for the services mentioned above.
The total amount is calculated to be £204,000 per hour, £3,407 per minute, and £56.78 for each and every second that he spent engaged in the provision of the services. When taking into account the fact that the book was published in 2018, it is important to note that the amount of money Ronaldo could potentially earn from such a venture is likely to be significantly higher after seven years.
Ronaldo insisted that he moved to Saudi Arabia in 2022 in order to “leave a legacy,” despite the fact that an enormous amount of money was being earned by him.
Ronaldo stated, “I came here to win, to make the league better,” in an interview that took place at Saudi Pro League: Kick Off in 2024.
My goal is to leave behind a legacy. I would like to have that. People say that I’m done, and that the only reason I’m here is for the money… Even now, I can still feel the urge. Despite the fact that they don’t believe it, I’m here to win.
