How Cristiano Ronaldo makes and spends his millions

Cristiano Ronaldo Shutterstock

There is no athlete in the world more popular than Cristiano Ronaldo.
That fame comes with a lot of perks, a ton of money, and plenty of toys to spend it on.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is the most famous athlete on the planet, and he is now a member of Italian powerhouse Juventus after nine seasons with Real Madrid.

With a Juve salary in the tens of millions and some of the biggest endorsement deals in football, he was the third highest-paid athlete in the world in 2018, behind only Floyd Mayweather and fellow superstar Lionel Messi. As a result, he also has a ludicrous amount of cash to burn.

Find out how he earns his money and what he spends all that cash on below.

Tony Manfred and Melissa Stranger also contributed to this post.

Ronaldo earned $108 million (£81.5 million) in the last 12 months, according to Forbes, making him one of the highest-paid sports stars in the world.

Getty Images

Source: Forbes

Almost half of that income ($47 million, £35.5 million) was from endorsement deals with companies like Tag Heuer, Herbalife, and Nike.

cristiano / Instagram

Ronaldo's new deal with Nike will reportedly pay him over £19 million per year for the rest of his life. At that rate, the deal will reach £800 million ($1 billion) in total value when Ronaldo is 73 years old.

cristiano / Instagram

Source: Forbes

It's no surprise that Ronaldo earns such a high price for his endorsements — with over 130 million followers on Instagram, 122 million on Facebook, and 72 million more on Twitter, he's the most popular athlete on the planet.

cristiano / Instagram

So what does he spend his money on? One of Ronaldo's biggest hobbies is cars. He drives a $300,000 (£207,000) Lamborghini Aventador, along with his Maserati (pictured).

YouTube/Eclipse AudioVisual

Source: Deadspin

He also reportedly owns a Bentley, a Porsche, and a Mercedes, among others.

Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Source: Complex

In March 2019, Ronaldo added a $360,000 Rolls Royce to his collection, a car that only the world's best and richest players have been able to get their hands on.

cristiano / Instagram

Source: The Sun

He's not always careful with them, though. In 2009 he crashed a $320,000 (£221,000) Ferrari in Manchester, where he used to play.

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Source: Daily Mail

But it looks like he has replaced it.

Instagram

And of course there is a soccer field.

Unscriptd

And there are people hired to keep all his trophies clean.

Instagram

Speaking of property, in 2015 he reportedly dropped $18.5 million (£13 million) on an apartment in Manhattan's Trump Towers.

Warburg Realty

Source: Business Insider

He's also been spotted wearing a $160,000 Jacob and Co. watch — a perk of having an endorsement deal with the company.

@Cristiano

Source: Daily Mail

More recently though, he has a new deal with Tag Heuer and posted a photo wearing theie $20,200 Carrera Heuer-02T

Instagram

... a gorgeous Russian swimsuit model and actress.

Mireya Acierto/Getty Images

Source: ESPN

But after five years together, the couple split up in January 2015.

Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Source: ESPN

In November 2017, Rodriguez gave birth to baby daughter Alana Martina, Ronaldo's fourth child.

cristiano / Instagram

He also had twins born a few months earlier, reportedly via a surrogate.

Twitter

Source: The Mirror

Rumors of the couple's engagement have swirled after Rodriguez was spotted at the World Cup sporting an impressive ring.

georginagio / Instagram

He has modeled for Armani, and has an underwear line coming out with designer Richard Chai.

Armani

Source: The Huffington Post

Since then, Ronaldo has established his own fashion brand — CR7 — that carries everything from cleats, to denim, to underwear and even fragrances.

cristiano / Instagram

But his pretty-boy image hasn't always been appreciated by opposing fans.

REUTERS/Phil Noble

He's not bothered, telling The Guardian "I think that because I am rich, handsome and a great player people are envious of me. I don't have any other explanation."

Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Source: The Guardian

But he's displayed human moments, like the time he cried after winning the Ballon d'Or in 2014.

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Source: Business Insider

He also got quite emotional after Portugal won Euro 2016.

Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

With all of his fortune, Ronaldo also does a great deal of charity, including a donation of $165,000 (£114,000) to a Portuguese cancer centre and $83,000 (£57,000) to fund a 10-year-old fan's brain surgery.

Save The Children

Source: Daily Mail

Keep up the good work, Cristiano.

Reuters

Now check out how another sporting legend spends his money.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

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