Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes since 2017. Furthermore, the player received a Guinness World Records title for being the highest-paid athlete in 2023. The player became the highest-paid athlete when he signed for the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo has earned around $136 million till May 1st of 2023. The player is said to have dethroned his soccer rival Lionel Messi who was the highest-paid athlete in 2022. The World Cup winner’s estimated earning is around $130 million.
As per reports, Ronaldo has earned around $46 million while playing soccer. Furthermore, the player has earned around $90 million from his other brand endorsement deals.
🚨OFFICIAL: Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list of world’s highest-paid athletes🐐🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/ra6wbDBSoO
— 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢 (@Philipmelo126) July 14, 2023
The player signed a lucrative deal with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in 2022 after his disastrous second stint at Manchester United. As per reports, the payer is earning double the salary at Al-Nassr than what he earned at the English club. Furthermore, he is also the highest-paid player in the Saudi Pro League.
The player also has a lifetime contract with the sportswear brand Nike. Ronaldo also has his own brand CR7 which is quite popular with fans. As per the reports, most of Ronaldo’s income is generated from his off-pitch earnings.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr banned from registering new players
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr has faced a FIFA ban which stops them from registering any new players in their team. Al-Nassr was the first club in Saudi Pro League to sign a big-name player like Cristiano Ronaldo. Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal soon followed in the footsteps of Al-Nassr and signed some other high-profile soccer players in the league.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr has, however, faced some problems with FIFA. According to reports, the club has some outstanding debts that they need to pay off. The club has reportedly failed to pay the add-ons to Leicester City for Ahmed Musa.
FIFA’s spokesperson commented on the situation, “Al-Nassr is currently prevented from registering new players — this is due to outstanding debts.”
Al-Nassr have been banned by FIFA from registering new players for failing to pay add-ons owed to Leicester as part of the Ahmed Musa deal. Between 2018-20 Musa triggered £390k (€460k) in performance-related add-ons, which are yet to be paid despite CAS ruling in #LCFC‘s favour. pic.twitter.com/IlR1T2kuuE
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 12, 2023
They further added, “Relevant bans will be lifted immediately upon the settlement of the debts being confirmed by the creditors concerned.”
In October the Saudi club was ordered by a judge appointed by FIFA to settle the dispute regarding the player. Furthermore, the club was ordered to pay $514,000 thousand to Leicester City along with added five percent interest.
Al-Nassr was only able to sign Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic this month because of the ban. The player joined the Saudi club from Inter Milan.