Cristiano Ronaldo’s net worth is $223 million. Sources that place the Cristiano net worth figure at $280 to $320 million likely aren’t figuring for taxes and the player’s lavish spending habits. It’s true that Ronaldo has earned nearly half a billion in his lifetime. The 31 year old has pulled down $178.6 million in salary and $222 million from multi-year endorsement deals with heavy hitters like Nike and Coca Cola. Transfer fees add $133 million in 2003 and 2009. Tossing in merchandise royalties from $4 to $6 million per year and business income of around $3 million gives a total Cristiano Ronaldo salary of over $70 million per year. However, Madrid’s highest tax rate of 47% slices out a $273 million piece of the Cristiano Ronaldo net worth pie, while the young star’s famously expensive spending habits on cars, houses and parties on luxury yachts take another estimated 20% or $90 million.
Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth Facts
The Cristiano Ronaldo net worth total is impressive, even compared to other big-name sports stars. The footballer’s $223 million net worth is about the same as NBA legend LeBron James’ net worth. It’s eight times bigger than Steph Curry’s net worth of $27 million and 23% bigger than standout NFL quarterback Tom Brady’s net worth of $172 million. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s net worth of $191 million is 14% smaller than the Cristiano Ronaldo net worth sum, which is twice as big as Kevin Durant’s net worth of $120 million. As far as other footballers, Lionel Messi’s net worth of $230 million is about 3% bigger than Ronaldo’s and Neymar’s net worth of $75 million is about 1/3rd as big. Outside the world of sports, Ronaldo’s net worth shines again, eclipsing the $3.4 million total wealth of U.S. President Barack Obama by 66 times. Finally, Ronaldo has 3,276 times the wealth of the typical American family, which has $68,000 saved.
Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth in the News
In the inspiring short film The Switch released on 6/9/16, Nike presents a fantasy in which Ronaldo switches bodies with a 16 year old schoolboy. The video goes beyond the realm of advertisement into entertainment, some may say enlightenment. It poses the questions: What if Ronaldo had to do it all again? Could he? And what if a schoolboy had to fill Ronaldo’s shoes? Could he? The film is full of smiles and laughs and real emotion. It’s also part of the star’s Nike contract that adds $21 million a year to the Cristiano Ronaldo net worth sum. The film ends with a win for both protagonists. Ronaldo gets his body back and is better than ever, and the young fan has been pulled up into the world of pro sports for good. You can watch the video below.
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Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth Timeline
The Cristiano Ronaldo net worth story started back in 2003 when he signed with Manchester United at age 18. In that year, he earned a salary of $3.7 million U.S. plus a signing fee of $17 million. That salary continued until 2008. The huge jump in net worth in that year reflects the player’s $116 million transfer fee when he left Manchester United for Real Madrid. That fee accompanied a salary of $12 million in 2009, followed by a boost to $20 million a year from 2010 through 2015 and another jump to $24 million a year for 2016. A raft of multi-year, multimillion dollar endorsement deals with companies like Nike, Tag Heuer and Coca Cola helped with the graph’s steep upward curve, pitching in $15 million a year by 2009 and $37 million a year by 2014. That’s par for the course when you’re repeatedly called the best player in the world and cited as the best Portuguese player of all time.
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Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth Sources: Salary and HUGE Endorsement Deals
Where does the Cristiano Ronaldo net worth figure come from? Salary and endorsements. The chart below show how the player’s net worth breaks down by source. Ronaldo’s number one earnings source is endorsement deals, accounting for 38% of his total income or $222 million. That’s a lot of money even for a major sports star, but no surprise for Ronaldo, who has been called the most marketable athlete in the world. We’ll get into just how marketable lower down, but Nike pays him over $21 million every year. Ronaldo also has high dollar continuing deals with Armani, Castrol, Banco Espirito Santo and several other major companies. Taken together, endorsements pay the footballer $37 million every year. Salary comes in second with 31% or $25 million per year, for a total of nearly $179 million over Ronaldo’s entire career. Transfer fees add in another 23% or $133 million, while royalties from merchandise and fledgeling business ventures so far chip in 8% or a combined $47 million.
Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth from Salary
Cristiano Ronaldo earns one of the highest sporting salaries in the world. At $24.7 million, he makes more money than all but the #1 highest paid player in the NBA, Damian Lillard, who just signed a contract for $25.9 million in 2016. Of note is Ronaldo’s $115 million transfer fee in 2009. At the time, the payout set a world record for the highest transfer fee in history for a footballer. In the year before the transfer, Ronaldo led Manchester United to victory in Japan in the FIFA World Cup. He was also named FIFA World Player of the Year, a first for a Premier League Player. Since the transfer he has won the La Liga title as well as two Copas del Rey and a Club World Cup, among many other honors. A former coach has said he is easily the best player in the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth from Endorsements
Cristiano Ronaldo makes more than $37 million a year from endorsement deals. Ronaldo is one of the highest paid endorsers in sports history, outclassed in sponsor earnings by only a very few athletes like Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. The difference is, while Ronaldo is only 31 and still going strong, those other two pros have already left the building. Compared to them, Ronaldo still has years to grow his cred with big brands.
Nike is his biggest backer, beginning with a $1.2 million a year contract back in 2003 and growing to over $21 million a year by 2016. Ronaldo has not his own Nike shoe but his own Nike shoe collection. The CR7 line, the FG line and other Ronaldo Nike shoes comprise a list of over 50 different soccer shoes that sell for $50 to over $300 a pair. Ronaldo has also been paid an estimated $2 million a year by Armani since 2009. The star footballer has similar deals with KFC, Emirates Airlines, Tag Heuer and Castrol for around $2 million a year each. There’s also a major deal with Banco Espirito Santo as well as deals with Altice, Konami and a contract with Coca Cola good for $4 million annually. All together, these non-Nike deals add up to $16 million every year.
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Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth from Merchandise and Business Ventures
The Cristiano Ronaldo net worth story doesn’t stop at salary and endorsements. Estimated at 15% of salary, Ronaldo’s income from sales of merchandise come to over $6 million in 2016 alone. To date the player earns another $3 million a year from newly minted business ventures. Ronaldo launched his CR7 fashion line in 2013. Sales are strong, but since the venture is relatively new it hasn’t had the chance yet to become a major Ronaldo earnings source. That will likely change, just judging by the star’s sky-high popularity. Stars like Dr. Dre and Jay Z and P. Diddy have cashed in on their signature fashion lines to the tune of hundreds of millions. If anything, Ronaldo has an even bigger worldwide following than those musicians. His clothing line is likely to take him over the billionaire line within the next ten years. Other business ventures include a line of CR7 hotels. The hotels are under construction and not earning revenue yet, but will likely pay off in the future.
Ronaldo’s Lavish Spending Habits
Ronaldo notoriously bought a Ferrari in 2009 and totaled it two days later in a crash. He has been known to party in Las Vegas with a gigantic entourage and throw multi-million dollar dinner parties. He has even thrown big bashes on luxury yachts. The star also owns a $7 million dollar mansion in Madrid. Despite his lavish spending, it’s very hard to spend away a pile of money as big as the Cristiano Ronaldo net worth fortune. Mansions can be sold again and so can sports cars. Even a totaled sports car most likely has insurance. Even so, Ronaldo spends away an estimated 20% of everything he earns, leaving hundreds of millions afterward.
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Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth Calculations
Apart from his extravagant spending habits, Ronaldo also has to pay sports agents, staff and taxes. The highest Madrid tax rate is 47%. Applying that to Ronaldo’s earnings gives a staggering tax bill of $273 million. A 20% expense rate (high for even a super rich celebrity) sucks another $116 million out in expenses. Investments add back a probable 6% per year to the Cristiano Ronaldo net worth sum or $31 million.
Like reading about the net worth of celebrities? Check out our post on Katy Perry’s net worth here or this article on Selena Gomez’s net worth. All Cristiano Ronaldo net worth data in this article come from salary reports and media estimates and are provided here for entertainment purposes only.