Portuguese superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, has become the first footballer in the history of the sport to be ranked a billionaire in the course of his playing career.
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The Juventus talisman becomes the third sportsman in the world after golf star Tiger Woods and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr to have earned $1bn during his active career.
Earlier, the Turin club announced a massive pay cut to help them during a period with loss of revenue. This, according to reports, will not affect the net worth of the former Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and Real Madrid forward.
According to Forbes, Ronaldo earned a staggering £89m in 2019 but his Juventus wages accommodate for marginally over half of that income at about £53m, this includes his bonuses.
The magazine also added that Ronaldo earns about £36m a year from his endorsements, including his sponsorship agreement with Nike, his underwear brand and an array of other advertising projects such as footwear and cologne. He has also appeared on the front cover of the FIFA 19 video game.
With the earnings from these ventures, the Portuguese star is in line to become the round leather game’s first billionaire; showing how marginal his £3.45m pay cut will turn out to be for him.
Findings, however, revealed that only FC Barcelona and Argentine’s star, Lionel Messi, earned more than the UEFA Champion’s League all-time top scorer last season.
The 35-year-old, having played 18 seasons of professional football, sees him setting another record aside how many trophies and personal accolades he has amassed.
In the meantime, Business Insider also reports that Roger Federer will become the first billionaire in tennis this year.
Golf Legend, Tiger Woods, was the first to achieve the feat in 2009, 13 years into his professional career, followed by boxer Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
