Cristiano Ronaldo has become football’s first-ever billionaire(Getty Images) via Mirror
Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly become football’s first-ever billionaire after signing a blockbuster new contract in Saudi Arabia.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star completed a stunning move to the Middle East in 2013.
According to the Mirror, after leaving Old Trafford, Ronaldo penned a record-breaking £173m-per-year deal with Al-Nassr. But he was then handed an even more lucrative contract after agreeing to fresh terms in Saudi Arabia.
The 40-year-old is now set to bank around £492m over the next two years – with that amount having seen him surpass the billion pound mark.
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According to Bloomberg, Ronaldo’s net worth has now risen to $1.4billion (£1.045bn) which sees him become the first-ever footballer to do that.
Some have criticised Ronaldo’s motivation for moving to Saudi Arabia, with it being claimed that it was purely driven by money. But the forward has regularly backed the league, suggesting that it has the potential to surpass some of Europe’s best.
After signing his new contract, he said: “Of course, we [the Saudi Pro League] are still improving but I believe that in this moment that we are in top five [leagues in the world ] already.
“I still believe that we will continue to improve, and we have time and we have shown in the last two years that the league is going up all the time.
“I am happy because I know that the league is very competitive. Only the people who have never played in Saudi, they don’t understand nothing about football say this league is not top five [in the world].
“I believe 100% in my words, and the people that play in this league they know what I am talking about.”
While he is currently still performing, the question of retirement has regularly been put to the veteran forward.
After being given an award in Portugal, Ronaldo said: “I’ll be honest: I don’t see it as an obsession.”
“If you’d asked me 20 years ago, I might have answered differently, like I wanted to eat the world, but now I don’t see things that way. Age also allows us to think differently.
“It’s like I said, I have a philosophy of living day by day. In everyday life, things change in a moment. You can’t make long-term plans. Right now, I make short-term plans because it gives me more energy that way, more of a desire to live”. – Mirror via G
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