CRISTIANO RONALDO is still on course to become only the third active sportsman to earn $1BILLION this season – despite taking a pay cut due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Juventus star, 35, took a £3.5million hit on his wages this week as the killer bug wreaks havoc on clubs’ finances.
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Ronaldo looks set to become the third active sportsperson to crack $1bn
But thanks to his sky-high pay-packet and endorsement deals, Ronaldo is still expected to join Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather Jr in breaching the milestone figure in 2019-20.
The Portuguese star is not only one of the highest-earning sports stars in the world based on his wages, he is arguably the most-marketable person in all of sport.
Ronaldo raked in £88m in 2019 thanks to his Juventus wages and sponsorship deals, including his massive deal with Nike and his own CR7 brand of underwear.
That number is second behind only old nemesis Lionel Messi (£103m) in the entire world.
Even the likes of NFL star Aaron Rodgers, NBA legend LeBron James and tennis superstar Roger Federer can’t match that tally.
And it’s helping Ronaldo – now into the 18th season of his professional career – rocket towards the magic $1bn target before the current campaign is up.
It would, of course, make Ronaldo the first-ever $1bn footballer – with golf and boxing the only other sports to see an individual reach that figure.
Forbes claim Ronaldo has already donated around £1.5m to the coronavirus fund in recent weeks.
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He also donated five ventilators to hospitals in his native Portugal.
Despite those generous actions, he was willing to take a pay cut in order to ensure Juventus both stayed afloat and were able to pay their staff.
But the latest reports claim Ronaldo could QUIT Juve, with the club – worth £1.2bn – struggling financially, with Italy hit hard by coronavirus.
Cristiano Ronaldo ‘splashes out £8.5million on limited edition Bugatti Centodieci’ – with just ten models ever created
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
