Home
sports
news
Cristiano Ronaldo is the 3rd highest-paid athlete on the planet. Here is how he makes and spends his millions.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the 3rd highest-paid athlete on the planet. Here is how he makes and spends his millions.

Barnaby Lane

Cristiano Ronaldo is the world's third highest paid athlete.Getty/Simon Stacpoole

Cristiano Ronaldo is the third highest-paid athlete on the planet.
He took home $115 million between May 2021 and May 2022, according to Forbes.

Cristiano Ronaldo made $115 million between May 2021 and May 2022, making him the third-highest-earning athlete in the world, according to Forbes.

It means the 37-year-old, who is the highest goalscorer in soccer history, has now earned well over $1 billion during his illustrious career.

Here's a breakdown of how the Manchester United forward makes and spends all that money.

Ronaldo took home $60 million in on-field earnings over the last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo. Getty/Tom Purslow

Ronaldo's earned $630,000 per week while playing for Manchester United during the 2020/21 season, making him the highest-paid player in the English Premier League by a large margin.

Though his salary for this season has been cut by 25% due to United's failure to secure a place in Champions League, he'll still be the league's second-highest earner, behind Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

The other $55 million was earned off the field.

As the most followed person on Instagram with 472 million followers, Cristiano Ronaldo has some serious pulling power when it comes to securing lucrative deals with sponsors. A single social media post from his account could be worth as much as $1.6 million, thanks to that impressive reach, according to a social media analytics firm.

On top of $1 billion lifetime deal with Nike, the Portuguese icon also boasts lucrative pacts with Herbalife, Tag Heuer, and Clear shampoo, among others.

Only LeBron James and Roger Federer earn more money off the field than Ronaldo.

Ronaldo spends his fortune in numerous ways, including on collecting cars.

Ronaldo's luxury car collection is worth an astonishing $24 million.

The collection includes a Mercedes G-Wagon Brabus, five Ferraris; and an ultra-rare McLaren Senna.

His favorite car is his Rolls Royce Cullinan. Purchased in 2019 for $360,000, Ronaldo describes the SUV as "perfect."

His most expensive car is worth $12 million.

Bugatti

Purchased in February 2021 to celebrate his 36th birthday, Ronaldo's Bugatti Centodieci is one of only 10 in the world.

The car can go from 0-60 mph in just 2.4 seconds and has a top speed of 236 mph.

He also owns a $2.4 million Bugatti, which his bodyguard recently crashed.

In June, Ronaldo's bodyguard crashed the star's Bugatti Veyron into a brick wall in Majorca, where the United forward and his family were on vacation.

The driver was unharmed but the front of the 1,200-horsepower supercar was badly damaged.

He owns a hoard of beautiful houses.

Ronaldo's property empire includes an $9.7 million, seven-story mansion in his native Madeira, a property in the north of Madrid and a getaway in Geres, Portugal.

He also owns the most valuable apartment in Lisbon, which is valued at $7.3 million.

His home in Marbella is particularly beautiful.

Ronaldo's purchased this villa in Marbella for $1.6 million. OTERO Group/Quartiers Estates

Nestled in a private country club in Marbella on the Costa del Sol, Ronaldo purchased this amazing villa for $1.6 million in 2019.

Built by the Otero Group, a luxury villa developer, the property features a built-in theatre, LED driveways, and an infinity pool.

It's also close by to a similar property owned by UFC star Conor McGregor.

Ronaldo likes to vacation with his family in Majorca.

And on his yacht on the Mediterranean Sea.

Ronaldo purchased a luxury yacht, the Azimut Grande 27 Metri, for $7 million last year.

The vessel has five luxury cabins and six stunningly decorated bathrooms. It also boasts a modern kitchen, a lounge, a lavish dining room, two relaxation areas, and bar on the deck.

Buying jewelry is another of Ronaldo's hobbies.

From his $1.5 million diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch to his $360,000 diamond ring – Ronaldo is a man who knows how to accessorize.

He also likes to splash the cash on buying expensive jewelry for his fiancée.

Last year, he bought Georgina Rodriguez a $725,000 engagement ring, as well as a $130,000 Louis Vuitton jewelry box to add to her $3.1 million collection of bracelets, according to MailOnline.

Ronaldo donates a lot of money to charity.

Ronaldo often donates to good causes. Getty/Jasper Juinen

Ronaldo is an ambassador for the major charities UNICEF and World Vision.

He also regularly donates to the Red Cross, Save the Children, and the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Among his most generous gestures was a $5 million donation he made to aid relief activities in Nepal after an earthquake killed nearly 8,000 people in 2015.

And he owns his own fashion brand.

Ronaldo's fashion brand — CR7 — carries everything from shoes and cleats, to denim, to underwear, and even fragrances.

According to Xinhua, per SportsKeeda, the brand is worth an eye watering $63 million.

As well as his own chain of hotels.

Poolside at Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel in Madeira. Insider/Barnaby Lane

Ronaldo owns a chain of lifestyle hotels which are part of the Pestana Hotel Group.

The chain has hotels in New York City, Lisbon, Paris, Marrakesh, and Madrid, though its marquee establishment is a four-star hotel in Funchal Madeira, where Ronaldo was born.

The hotel in Funchal – which is themed around Ronaldo himself – boasts stunning views of the harbour and spa facilities, while it's also attached to Ronaldo's own museum.

Some of his purchases are a little odd.

Uncanny. Reuters/Stefan Wermuth

In 2015, the United forward paid nearly $30,000 to have a wax statue of himself, similar to the one in Madrid's Museum of Wax, made that he could keep at home.

Even stranger is that he reportedly pays for a hair stylist to attend to the museum version once a month to be sure the statue's hairstyle is current.

"Cristiano told us to be sure his figure was perfect," the museum's communications director told a local news outlet.

But what he loves to spend his time and money on most is raising his family.

Ronaldo has five children, two of whom he has with Rodriguez.

His eldest son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, was born in 2010; the identity of his mother is still publicly unknown.

In 2017, Ronaldo then announced he had become a father for a second time — to twins, Eva Maria and Mateo, via a surrogate mother.

He and Rodriguez had their first child, Alana Martina Dos Santos, together later that same year. In 2021, the couple announced that they were expecting twins.

Sadly, in April 2022, one of the twins, a baby boy, died during childbirth. The other twin, a baby girl, survived.

Shortly after the death of his son, Ronaldo told The Mirror that his family is the most important part of his life.

"I have millions and billions, but the most important thing is family," he said.

Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Shumacher are close to losing their F1 jobs. Here i…