What Cristiano Ronaldo could afford to buy after £492m deal
Cristiano Ronaldo has cemented himself as the highest-paid person in sport with an annual contract exceeding the GDP of several small countries
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The Portuguese footballer has signed a deal that will keep him in Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia until 2027, when he turns 42, on terms that will net him a reported £492 million over 24 months.
Ronaldo has played in the Middle East since leaving Manchester United in 2022 and has scored 99 goals in 111 appearances. However, Al-Nassr have not won a major trophy since his arrival.
Al-Nassr is one of the Saudi Pro League clubs backed by the state government and the club appears to have no hope of a financial return on the investment, even if they win all of their competitions and sell out their 15,000-capacity Al Maktoum Stadium every game.
Ronaldo, however, has 659 million Instagram followers (the most on the social media site) and will offer Al-Nassr and Saudi Arabia an unmatched level of online exposure.
He wrote on Instagram: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”
Here is how the contract details break down, with data taken from Zimbabwe Observer, Sports Illustrated, The Guardian, and Lina Ikeji’s Blog. LBC has not seen the contract.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr contract details
- Basic contract of £492m over two years, worth £488,000 per day and £3.4m per week, alongside £24.5m signing bonus and £38m if he triggers the second year,
- Ronaldo has a 15 per cent ownership stake in Al-Nassr and a club ownership stake valued at around $45.4m,
- Performance bonuses of £80,000 per goal and £40,000 per assist - with these figures to increase by 20 per cent in the second year. There is an $11m bonus if Al-Nassr win the Saudi Pro League title and a $5.5m bonus for the Golden Boot,
- His staff will include two chefs, three gardeners, three drivers, four housekeepers, and four security personnel,
- Private jet with £4m allowance.
Read also: Cristiano Ronaldo ‘proud’ as son Cristiano Jr gets first international call-up to Portugal Under-15s
Here is what Cristiano Ronaldo could afford to buy
For some context, Ronaldo will earn 15 times more than the entire Birmingham City squad does each year. He might even earn more than the entire sum of the squads in League One.
His wealth also puts him above the GDP of small countries, including Tuvalu, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, and Dominica. He is thought to be significantly the highest earner in football and has the highest guaranteed income of any person in the world.
- 97,600 cups of coffee per day (at £5 each),
- 4,067 Netflix subscriptions per day (at £120/year),
- 61 iPhone 15 Pro Max phones per day (at £8,000 each),
- 1,627 bottles of Dom Pérignon champagne per day (at £300 each),
- 32 Rolex Submariner watches per day (at £15,000 each),
- 164 Rolls-Royce Phantoms (at £3m each) over two years,
- 41 private jets (at £12m each) over two years,
- 98 luxury superyachts (at £5m each) over two years,
- 3,280 Hermès Birkin bags (at £150,000 each) over two years