Ronaldo Named Football‘s 1ST EVER Billionaire ....

It's official! 

Christiano Ronaldo has become the first soccer player in history to earn $1 billion across his playing career

Cristiano Ronaldo earned $105 million before taxes and fees in the past year, landing him at No. 4 on the 2020 Forbes Celebrity 100, one spot above his top rival in the sport, Lionel Messi, and making him the first soccer player in history to earn $1 billion across his playing career.


The 35-year-old striker is only the third athlete to hit the mark while still playing, following Tiger Woods, who did it in 2009 on the back of his long-term endorsement deal with Nike NKE, and Floyd Mayweather, who did it in 2017 and has made most of his income from a cut of pay-per-view sales for his boxing matches.


Ronaldo, the first to reach the earnings milestone in a team sport, has made $650 million on the pitch during his 17 years as a pro and is expected to reach $765 million in career salary with his current contract, which ends in June 2022, besides endorsements and other investments.


Messi, who began playing at the senior level three years after Ronaldo, has earned a total of $605 million in salary since 2005. 

According to Forbes.com, the only team athlete to even come within striking distance of those figures was former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who retired in 2016 after 22 years in Major League Baseball having earned $450 million in salary. Not even soccer legend David Beckham came close, ending his career with total earnings of $500 million, half of which came from off-the-pitch endorsements.