How Cristiano Ronaldo became football’s first billionaire – from record-breaking Manchester United merchandise sales to charging US$1 million per paid Instagram post
- Topping Forbes’ ‘World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021’ list, Ronaldo recently returned ‘home’ to Manchester United after lucrative stints at Real Madrid and Juventus
- The football star inked a lifetime deal with Nike, a feat only achieved by NBA legends Michael Jordan and LeBron James, and boasts over half a billion social media followers
But how does one of footie’s hottest players earn the big bucks? From leveraging his social media power to signing multimillion-dollar deals, Ronaldo sure knows his way around balancing the books.
That impressive Manchester United move
He has been called the world’s most popular athlete and he has more than half a billion followers across all of his social media platforms at the time of writing, including Facebook (149 million), Instagram (348 million) and Twitter (94.5 million).
This summer, 12 years after he left Manchester United for Real Madrid, it was announced that Ronaldo would be returning “home”. Forbes reports the Ronaldo/Man United deal is worth US$70 million, which includes his salary and bonus agreements.
Ronaldo was confirmed as United’s new No 7 and the August 31 announcement set off a series of astonishing records being broken.
No 7 earns the cash
So popular did Ronaldo remain at “home” that more than a decade after leaving United his name was still sung in the Old Trafford stadium terraces. And boy, did his loyal fans show up for their idol’s return. There were long lines outside Old Trafford after his team number was confirmed, according to British media, with people wanting to get their hands on the new merchandise as soon as they could.