Christiano Ronaldo becomes world’s first billionaire footballer

The decisions made by Ronaldo throughout his career have become a blueprint for other players looking to achieve a slice of his kind of success.

Breaking down his earnings, Bloomberg reports that Ronaldo made more than $550 million USD in wages between 2002 and 2023 from some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.

His initial move to Saudi Arabia in 2023 then solidified Ronaldo as the highest-paid player in football history with an annual salary of $358 million, plus bonuses.

On a business level, the move seemed to light a new pathway for other talented footballers looking to prolong their career in a different league while earning seriously lucrative pay checks, especially as they edge closer to retirement.

In terms of brand partnerships, Ronaldo’s decade-long Nike deal reportedly earns him around $18 million USD annually, with a further $175 million USD from endorsements with Armani, Castrol, and others.

Needless to say, the math is mathing.

In terms of brand building and relevancy, Ronaldo’s influence and recognisability can only be compared to small group of other billionaire athletes, including basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James. Other billionaire athletes include golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.

Ronaldo’s global reach is undeniable, being the most-followed athlete in the world, with more than 665 million Instagram followers. This figure represents a digital scope larger than the populations of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France combined.

Ronaldo’s empire paints a perfect picture of how sport, celebrity, and digital culture have become intertwined. He’s a globally-recognised athlete, but he’s also an entrepreneur and influencer, with the CR7 brand made up of fragrances, hotels, gyms, and even a museum in Madeira dedicated to his career.

While some football purists will say that goals are what makes a player a legend, Ronaldo is proving that longevity in today’s sports sphere depends on endurance and evolution.

In terms of brand building and relevancy, Ronaldo’s influence can only be compared to small group of other billionaire athletes, including basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James. Other athletes with billionaire status include golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.

Online, Ronaldo is the most-followed athlete in the world, with more than 665 million followers on Instagram alone. He also broke a YouTube record in 2024, becoming the fastest account to reach 10 million subscribers… achieved in a single day.

Ronaldo’s empire paints a perfect picture of how sport, celebrity, and digital culture have become intertwined. He’s a globally-recognised athlete, but he’s also an entrepreneur and influencer, with the CR7 brand made up of fragrances, hotels, gyms, and even a museum in Madeira dedicated to his career.

While some football purists will say that goals are what truly matter, Ronaldo is proving that the global success of a player in today’s world depends on endurance and evolution – and others are following suit.

Last year, Kylian Mbappé became a part owner of the French Ligue 2 football club SM Caen through his investment firm, Coalition Capital, which purchased an 80 percent stake in the club. Mbappe also became a part owner of the French SailGP team earlier this year, a sign that footballers’ business interests don’t have to be confined to their own sport.

Earlier this year, Luka Modrić became an investor and co-owner of Swansea City football club after purchasing shares from the club’s former majority owners. Speaking of the deal, Modrić expressed his hope of helping the club compete at the highest level by utilising his football knowledge and attracting global attention through his investment.

In the past, many former footballers have described retirement as a scary and uncertain inevitability. Many saw the only possible avenues of club management, coaching, or punditry. But looking at Ronaldo’s case, life after football doesn’t have to be a dead, depressing end.

It’s clear that well-planned brand building and intentional investment in sport can see life post-football life blossom into a new kind of opportunity that creates change for players and teams of the future.