Cristiano Ronaldo has made history by becoming the first footballer to reach billionaire status, having earned a lucrative new contract in Saudi Arabia. The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid ace made a sensational switch to the Middle East in 2013. After his departure from Old Trafford, Ronaldo inked an unprecedented £173million-per-year deal with Al-Nassr.
However, he is now on an more profitable contract after agreeing to new terms in Saudi Arabia. The 40-year-old is now poised to rake in approximately £492m over the forthcoming two years – a sum that has propelled him past the billion-pound milestone. Bloomberg reports that Ronaldo’s net worth has now escalated to $1.4billion (£1.045bn), making him the first footballer to achieve this feat.
Ronaldo’s decision to move to Saudi Arabia has been met with criticism, with some suggesting it was purely motivated by financial gain. Yet, the striker has consistently championed the league, indicating that it has the potential to outshine some of Europe’s finest.
Upon signing his new contract, he stated: “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 per cent in my words, and the people that play in this league they know what I am talking about.”
Whilst he continues to perform at the highest level, the issue of hanging up his boots has repeatedly been raised with the legendary striker. Following an award ceremony in Portugal, Ronaldo admitted: “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.
“I enjoy each day, training session by training session and competition by competition. Then, down the road, we’ll see.”
The Portuguese icon has compiled an extraordinary scoring record since moving to Saudi Arabia. He has netted 104 goals in 117 appearances across all competitions for Al-Nassr.