Ronaldo’s $105 Million Year Tops Messi And Crowns Him Soccer’s First Billion-Dollar Man

Add another zero to soccer’s most expensive rivalry.

Cristiano Ronaldo earned $105 million before taxes and fees in the past year, landing him at No. 4 on the 2020 Forbes Celebrity 100, one spot above his top rival in the sport, Lionel Messi, and making him the first soccer player in history to earn $1 billion across his playing career.

contract, which ends in June 2022. Messi, who began playing at the senior level three years after Ronaldo, has earned a total of $605 million in salary since 2005. The only team athlete to even come within striking distance of those figures was former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who retired in 2016 after 22 years in Major League Baseball having earned $450 million in salary. Not even soccer legend David Beckham came close, ending his career with total earnings of $500 million, half of which came from off-the-pitch endorsements.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, in the world’s most popular sport, in an era when football has never been so rich,” said Sporting Intelligence’s Nick Harris, whose Global Sports Salaries Survey ranks teams worldwide based on total salary expense. “He’s box office.”

Ronaldo and Messi’s head-to-heads heated up in 2009 in Spain’s La Liga, where Ronaldo played for Real Madrid and Messi for Barcelona. Their faceoffs on the pitch ignited a nine-year battle for bragging rights as the best—and top-paid—in the sport, a highly personal tit-for-tat that had them re-negotiating contracts in lockstep and monopolizing the game’s highlight reel.

The rivalry was as entertaining as it was profitable, coming just as clubs around the world were seeing soaring attendance and an influx of television money. The two were perfectly matched for battle, on and off the pitch: Ronaldo perfected a shirtless, stylized showmanship while Messi played the quiet game, always a tad unkempt and as prolific a scorer as he was a wingman. Ronaldo strutted after every goal. Messi was a master at thanking his teammates.

Both backed it up. Barcelona won La Liga’s title six times and two Champions Leagues trophies with Messi on the squad. Real Madrid won the Spanish title twice and the Champions League four times with Ronaldo. During their years in the league, each player nabbed the Ballon d’Or (soccer’s MVP award) four times, and El Clásico, the nickname for their clubs’ fierce clashes, was a record-setting television event worldwide.

But when it comes to leveraging celebrity, it has been no contest. Guided by Jorge Mendes of Gestifute, one of the world’s most powerful agents, Ronaldo has amassed an ever-growing following of fans and consumers drawn to his poster-boy good looks, his trend-setting hair styles, his impeccable fashion sense and, lately, his softer side as a family man whose toddlers pop up on his social media posts. In January, he became the first person with 200 million followers on Instagram, part of a social media army of 427 million across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that makes him the most popular athlete on the planet.

Nike pays him upwards of $20 million annually and signed him to a lifetime deal in 2016, making him just the third athlete, after Michael Jordan and LeBron James, hitched to the Swoosh for eternity. In May, the footwear maker announced the release of a ten-year-anniversary edition of his first signature Mercurial Superfly and a child’s version to celebrate his son’s 10th birthday, complete with his famous celebration stance, signature and logo. Pitches for Clear shampoo, Herbalife HLF and pharmaceutical maker Abbott help raise his endorsement tally to $45 million.


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Ronaldo Inc. even has a trademark—CR7, a mix of his initials and jersey number—part of a lifestyle brand that Forbes estimates accounts for a quarter of his annual endorsement income, including branded underwear that debuted in 2013 and was followed by a line of shoes, fragrances and denim wear. He partnered with Pestana Hotel Group in 2015 to open his first property a year later in his hometown of Funchal, Madeira, right above Museu CR7, a shrine for his trophies and a retail outlet for his merchandise. He’s since added CR7 clubs with Crunch Fitness, posted workout routines on YouTube and attached his name to a social media influencing degree offered by Italian online university eCampus.

And the rivalry is far from done.

Ronaldo’s 2020 earnings include a salary of $60 million, slightly less than last year because of a 30% pay cut he agreed to take this April as a result of the pandemic. Messi, who earned $104 million in the past year after taking a 70% pay cut while the coronavirus sidelined play, is poised to surpass $1 billion in all-time earnings as soon as next year, before his current Barça contract ends.

The G.O.A.T for life. Man cancelling records on and off the pitch..

The Argentine dwarf and his fans wont like this one bit.

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Ronaldo Star boy

Ronaldo is obviously a better and bigger businessman than a certain shrimp from Argentina who plays for Barcelona.And he even took a pay cut from Juue.

The G.O.A.T

so he has earned over $1billion.

So what's Messi been doing. At least he has to learn from Ronaldo in this aspect of life. Never knew football could make one rub shoulders with the richest men on Earth.
However, I know Ronaldo is also world no.1 in Instagram and other social media. Means that even if football is suspended for a year and no salaries he'll keep earning hundreds of millions per year from social media adverts.
Kudos to you CR7. Kindly take a bow!

Nice. He is a great businessman and best footballer off the pitch but second to Messi on the pitch. No cap.

Galactico4ever:
Ronaldo is obviously a better and bigger businessman than a certain shrimp from Argentina who plays for Barcelona.And he even took a pay cut from Juue.

30% cut, like you didn't read where Messi took a 70% pay cut

Omo this Ronaldo is the real GOAT.
He is the finest footballer
He is the richest footballer
He is the most popular footballer/athlete
He is the best footballer.

Hian ma pa mi na

Let's all be reminded he started before Messi.

J

Bobby4090:
So what's Messi been doing. At least he has to learn from Ronaldo in this aspect of life. Never knew football could make one rub shoulders with the richest men on Earth.
However, I know Ronaldo is also world no.1 in Instagram and other social media. Means that even if football is suspended for a year and no salaries he'll keep earning hundreds of millions per year from social media adverts.
Kudos to you CR7. Kindly take a bow!

My question is why should a billionaire still be playing football as a career. Struggling for the ball with folks you're probably 100 times richer than and training every morning and evening.
Mr Ronaldo, isn't it time to vacate and relax in one Caribbean island and enjoy red wine /sunny beaches for the rest of your life.

Congrat

Ronaldo has earned it.

He makes money from a lot of deals and personal businesses too, aside football

Haters wanted to dampen his reputation by claiming he was a rapist, but the Lord delivered him

Space booked

Chai

My fellow Messi fans would be like "Money is vanity", " A billionaire can't be a G.O.A.T". etc.
Issorite.
So, he becomes the first billionaire with six packs.

Atomemmy:
Chai

My fellow Messi fans would be like "Money is vanity", " A billionaire can't be a G.O.A.T". etc.
Issorite.
So, he becomes the first billionaire with six packs.

He is not yet a billionaire, he earned $1billion before tax.

Happy birthday Eva and Mateo