Cristiano Ronaldo‘s talent and marketability has made him one of the wealthiest athletes to have ever lived, and some of the figures are eye-watering.
Sportico put him third in the all-time list with his earnings from his playing career and endorsements at $2.23b, behind only Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, and the superstar we know today seems a world away from the teenager that first burst onto the scene in the early 2000s.
With that in mind, we are going to take a look at how much money Ronaldo has earned purely from his playing career by tracking the reported value of his various contract deals.
Sporting Lisbon (2002) – ~$1.1m a year
Having been a member of their youth academy since 1997, a fresh-faced teenage Ronaldo put pen to paper on his first professional deal with Sporting back in 2002.
With the player not being the well-known superstar that he is today, reports on the value of his contract are limited, but values range from €1,500 a month all the way up to €83,000.
South American outlet El Futbolero reckons it was close to €1m a year, but that would seem extremely high for a young prospect, even one with the talent of Ronaldo.
Mundo Deportivo says Ronaldo’s deal was worth $1.1m and was eight years long.
Manchester United 1st contract (2003) – $2.91m a year
In 2003, and just a year into his eight-season contract with Sporting, Ronaldo made his career-changing move to Manchester United.
Ferguson’s team paid £12.24m to bring him to Old Trafford and handed the 18-year-old a five-year deal worth a reported £1.82m a year, doubling what he was on the previous season.
Manchester United 2nd contract (2005) – $4.41m a year
It did not take long for Ronaldo to emerge as one of the world’s best players, and soon some of Europe’s elite clubs were interested in him.
With reports that both Real Madrid and Barcelona were considering making moves, United tied down their prized asset with a new deal, although it was not a bumper pay rise at the time.
Reports suggest it was anywhere from £2m to £2.5m, with his big payday set to come later.
Manchester United 3rd contract (2007) – $12.74m a year
By the time 2007 came around, Ronaldo had gone from teenage hopeful to genuine superstar, and a breakthrough season in 06-07 put him front and centre on the world stage.
Despite only giving him a new deal two years earlier, United offered Ronaldo a huge pay rise of £120k a week for five years – the equivalent of £200k a week these days.
That shot Ronaldo’s annual salary up to £6.24m, and he proved his worth by winning the Ballon d’Or in 2008.
Real Madrid 1st contract (2009) – $15.99m a year
Despite United’s proactive approach in ensuring Ronaldo always had a long deal, they still could not stop him from heading to his dream club, Real Madrid.
In July 2009, the Spanish giants agreed a world-record €94m fee, and, having got the green light from the Old Trafford club, Madrid offered Ronaldo €11 million a year.
Real Madrid 2nd contract (2013) – $23.04m a year
Four years later, Ronaldo had earned himself an improved deal with Madrid, offering him an extension of three years valued at €17m.
That figure made him the highest-paid player in the world and kick-started Madrid’s hugely successful era in the Champions League.
Real Madrid 3rd contract (2016) – $27.9m a year
Off the back of two Ballon d’Or wins since he signed his contract, Ronaldo was further rewarded in 2016 with a new deal.
It was a five-year extension, although it did not have a huge pay rise and was a significant step down from the 10-year contract he had been asking for.
Significantly, it came just a month after Gareth Bale had become Real Madrid’s best-paid player with a £150m six-year deal. No details were released, but if we know anything about Ronaldo, his salary would have been higher than Bale’s.
Juventus (2018) – $35.98m a year
In 2018, Ronaldo and his team had spent several months negotiating an extension to his Madrid stay, but in the end, he opted to leave La Liga and head for Turin.
Having been impressed by the fans during a Champions League fixture, Ronaldo moved to Juventus for a €100m transfer, with the player suggesting he did not feel supported by Madrid president Florentino Pérez.
The switch to Serie A came with a €31m contract, which was three times the value of any other player in the league.
He was hired with the goal of ending Juventus’ Champions League drought, but ultimately, the winger-turned-striker could not help them achieve that.
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Return to Manchester United (2021) – $6.26m a year
Juventus eventually realised they were haemorrhaging money to pay Ronaldo, who was past his best, and so were open to his sale.
The summer of 2021 saw him on the market for the first time, and a return to Manchester seemed the most likely, although it was City rather than United that was leading the charge.
Sensing that one of their best-ever players was going to be heading to their rivals, United legends, including Ferguson, called Ronaldo to persuade him to return to Old Trafford, which he duly did.
The club, then under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, paid €12.85million to Juventus and saw the player take a significant wage cut for the first time in his career.
While reports said his salary was up to £480,000, more credible outlets say it was closer to £385,000, making it £4,620,000 a year.
Although that number dropped to £360,000 when United failed to qualify for the Champions League.
It still made Ronaldo the best-paid player at United, but he ultimately fell out with Erik ten Hag and he was on the move again in 2023.
Al-Nassr 1st contract (2023) – $95.99m a year
While players moving to Saudi Arabia for big money is commonplace these days, Ronaldo was very much the first big name to make this switch.
In January 2023, the PIF-backed Al-Nassr reached a deal to bring him to the country, and he received the highest football salary in history worth an eye-watering €200m a year, all of which was tax-free.
To keep it consistent with the other figures, we are just focusing on the playing salary and not sponsorships, but even that was €90 million.
To make matters even sweeter, he received a signing-on bonus of €100m.
Al-Nassr 2nd contract (2023) – $95.99m a year
While his presence on the world stage had undoubtedly fallen by 2025, his importance to the Saudi project can be seen in how keen they were on keeping him.
As he searches for his 1,000th career goal, Ronaldo hinted he would leave the country and even posted on social media: “This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.” after the club’s final game of the season.
However, the club managed to convince the now 40-year-old to stay with an extension of two years with similar terms to his last deal.
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