Juventus and Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo has become football’s first billionaire while his Barcelona’s rival Lionel Messi is expected to follow suit next year.
According to Forbes, Ronaldo, 35, is now only the third sports star to reach the milestone, joining Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Ronaldo raked in £85 million in the last year from his wages and endorsement deals, pushing him into the billions for career earnings.
His annual earnings were actually down 9 percent after he took a £3.5m cut on his wages due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But it was still enough for Ronaldo to reach the $1billion mark ahead of his friendly rival Messi.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has pocketed over £500m during his career from wages alone. The figure is expected to exceed £600 million by the time his current contract at Juventus is up at the end of the 2021-22 season.
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Ronaldo has also raked in around £36 million-a-year in endorsements during his career, including partnerships with Nike, with whom he has a lifetime contract. The forward also has his own company, CR7, as well as being the most-followed sports star in the world on Facebook and Instagram.
Ronaldo rakes in roughly £1million per post on Instagram – more than any other person on the planet. He makes £14 million more per year from social media than he does from his Juventus pay-packet.
Amazingly, Messi who is 3 years Ronaldo’s junior is expected to reach the $1 billion mark next year. He pocketed £84 million in the past year from his own wages and endorsement deals – which include Pepsi and Adidas.
But neither Messi nor Ronaldo were Forbes’ top-earning sports star this year-with that honour going to tennis ace Roger Federer. The Swiss legend, 38, banked £86m to edge out the footballing duo.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
