Born in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo started his footballing career with Portuguese giants sporting Lisbon and broke through the ranks at the club to make it to the first team at an early age of 17.
Signed by Manchester United in 2003 for 12.24 million pounds made him the most expensive teenager in British footballing history.
Upon his arrival at the Old Trafford, he was handed the iconic number seven shirt previously worn by the likes of George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.This was the start of the soon to be the world's best player in the world. Ronaldo took full advantage of the famous shirt to propel his identity all over the world.
Moving to Real Madrid in 2009 for a transfer fee of 90 million euros, Ronaldo became the most expensive player in the world. It was here where Ronaldo decided to take his brand CR7 to an all new level by extending his brand's avenues by launching a clothing, underwear and shoe line, CR7 hotels and a museum. It was no surprise also that sponsors came calling in numbers.
Today, with one of the most recognisable faces and torsos in the world Ronaldo is by no doubt a marketing titan. He fronts major campaigns for Tag Heuer, Nike, Motorola, Herbal life, Clear (Shampoo), Armani, Konami, Toyota, Banco Espirito Santo and Sacoor Brothers (Fashion), among others.
His lucrative endorsement deals put his Real Madrid salary to shame. He currently has a fourth most lucrative endorsement deal in the world of sports with Nike, where he gets paid around US$27.1 million a year. His huge list of international and domestic brands endorsement deal with major brands bags him another US$10 million combined.
His very own branded CR7 clothing, underwear, and shoes line which is popular in Portugal, Spain, UAE and parts of Asia nets him another 6 to 10 million dollars a year. According to Forbes study, Cristiano Ronaldo is the only footballer with the most number of endorsements and the biggest athlete brand in the world.
This story is from the December 2016 edition of SME Magazine Singapore.
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This story is from the December 2016 edition of SME Magazine Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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