Premier League - Ronaldo's £106m pay bonanza

Eurosport - Fri, 12 Jun 14:10:00 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to earn £106 million from his six-year deal at Real Madrid, with a mind-boggling final salary of £556,000-a-week.

2008 Cristiano Ronaldo - 0

The Portuguese star is on the verge of a move to the Bernabeu after Manchester United accepted a world record £80m bid for him on Thursday.

He will discuss a contract with the Spanish giants when he returns from holiday in Los Angeles, and will land the biggest contract in football history.

Real are expected to offer a structured deal starting at £183,000-a-week, but with a 25 per cent rise every season seeing his pay soar above half a million pounds every week in the final year of his contract.

Based on current exchange rates, Ronaldo's will be the fifth-largest contract in sports history behind four baseball deals.

The biggest belongs to Alex Rodriguez, who signed a 10-year, $275m (£167m) deal with the New York Yankees in 2008, equating to an average annual salary of £16.7m; slightly less than Ronaldo.

Rodriguez's previous $252m (£153m) contract with the Texas Rangers comes in at number two, while A-Rod's Yankees team-mates Derek Jeter ($189/10 years) and Mark Teixeira ($180m/eight years) both exceed Ronaldo, whose likely £106m contract is worth $174m.

Football's highest earner is David Beckham, who rakes in £27m per year, but only £4m comes from his club LA Galaxy; the rest is sponsorship and merchandising.

Ronaldo was fourth on a recently-published France Football list of the sport's highest earners behind Beckham, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho, but he can expect his £15.5m total earnings from 2008 to increase significantly following his move to Madrid.

Ronaldo's possible £556,000-a-week wage in the last year of his contract works out at:

£79,428 a day

£3,309 an hour

£55 a minute

92p per second

Or, if Real Madrid play two games in a week:

£51.48 per second on the pitch.

What can Ronaldo buy with his total £106m Real Madrid contract?

- A Big Mac for every man, woman and child in the United Kingdom.

- 530 new Ferrari 599 GTBs, like the one he wrote off in a crash earlier this year.

- Himself, with enough change for Carlos Tevez.

- Newcastle United Football Club.

- 588,000 hours in a tanning salon.

- 34,754,098 tubes of Brylcreem wet look hair gel.

- 42,400 ceiling mirrors.

- The most expensive house in Los Angeles, which belongs to TV producer Aaron Spelling, a three-story mansion with 56,500 square feet of space and a 4.6 acre estate.

- 163,077 bottles of Cristal champagne for himself and Paris Hilton at Hollywood nightspot My House.

- 26,500,000 inflatable donkeys.

- 10,610,610 pairs of Cristiano Ronaldo pyjamas.

- 706,666,667 telephone votes for Cristiano Ronaldo as Overseas Sports Personality of 2009.

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Alex Chick / Eurosport

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  1. Real fans should boycott their home games in protest.­ Why do fans who work hard to earn a few pounds or euros­ spent it going to football matches to keep the likes of­ Ronaldo in the lap of luxury. Spend it supporting­ junior football.

    From Robert S, on Sat 13 Jun 8:09AM

  2. I dont like Ronaldo,No character,not the class of­ Zidane,Diego,Platini,Bargio,Beckham etc. Even Theary­ Henry Kicks the ball a lot better than this lucky kid.­ About money,no jelous its your money its just like­ winning lotto,you diserve it,its just being at the­ right place at the right time,no need to give it to­ poor people,they didnt earn it,its yours!Do whatever­ you want with it , its your cash,just hope to see you­ doing better in the field,cant imagine Puyol rounding­ you like that,when you should be going round him,you­ dont like to be substituted,i am ashamed to see what­ you do sometimes in the pitch and you re the current­ FIFA world number one.All the best with your future­ congrats!

    From chat, on Sat 13 Jun 8:03AM

  3. i see there has been a lot of comments on here by the­ armed forces lads and ladies.... i am a mun u fan and­ 80 mil is going to to come in handy for us to buy more­ players, however, i do agree with you guys for the 85%­ of you that put your life on the line in combat YOU ARE­ WORTH @#$% LOADS MORE MONEY and you should be paid more­ for the job you do !!! really do appricate what you do­ for for your country !!

    From sooty, on Sat 13 Jun 7:47AM

  4. i think terroists should target these people instead of­ america

    From final_fantasy_master_05, on Sat 13 Jun 7:45AM

  5. bloody outrageous. i can kick a bag of wind around for­ as long as them. im actually a really good healthy­ athlete who has played football socially for 15 years.­ and im good. but id rather have a real job.­

    footballers are overpayed todd pots. you think they­ would still play if they got a normal wage? no! they­ would not! for those who say the people who earn­ billions etc etc... at least they earn that money the­ right way. most of them created businesses from scratch­ and built up.

    with all the things wrong in the world­ why are they gettin payed so much? if a top footballer­ gave up just 1 weeks wages just think of how much­ difference that would make to a 3rd world country. id­ do it if i got payed that much

    From final_fantasy_master_05, on Sat 13 Jun 7:43AM

  6. I find itaAbsolutely disgusting and obscene that­ someone gets so much money for kicking a ball around. ­ All these vastly overpaid people should be forced to­ give more than half of their 'salary' to a­ fund to feed the hungry, build schools and hospitals,­ etc.

    From Alex, on Sat 13 Jun 7:32AM

  7. Definitely there pure football game is gone. At least­ that we have had the chance of watching decent football­ games in the past, we have to save those memories as­ now it is some dirty business. How can I support a­ football team nowadays when all the players do not care­ what shirt they are wearing?

    From alfred, on Sat 13 Jun 7:21AM

  8. Yea and just imagine how many children in poverty he­ could save, How much famine he could stop but no he is­ being an extremely selfish man spending money that he­ doesnt deserve to earn.

    From Cally, on Sat 13 Jun 7:18AM

  9. Poor sole! However will he cope? I think it's­ obscene that someone who plays any sport can earn such­ vast sums of money especially in these days of high­ unemployment, house reposession etc. Ticket prices at­ these clubs should be vastly reduced so that families­ can afford to go and buy the merchandise - which should­ also be reduced in price. I haven't noticed the­ global recession hitting football.

    From Angela J, on Sat 13 Jun 7:17AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    CONGRATULATIONS RONALDO YOU DESREVE IT PROVE TO THE­ WORLD YOU DESESERVED IT YOU'RE THE BEST

    From FelixC, on Sat 13 Jun 7:14AM

  11. At least he is going to warmer climes,where his a@rse­ won't get cold
    when he is sitting on the grass­ crying like a spoilt brat !

    From MICHAEL, on Sat 13 Jun 6:37AM

  12. opps sorry im under my partners name my name is julie­ for this comment and the other 1 under kieven­ ....................

    From Kieven, on Sat 13 Jun 6:16AM

  13. I am one of the rear breads of women that love football­ but to be totaly honest with everyone there is no­ footballer on this earth worth those sort of amounts of­ money just to play football they dont even know the­ dangers would they put there lives at risk for queen­ and country I DONT THINK SO ........... and now i­ will say goodbye to one of the horrid tempered men on­ the playing fields....................

    From Kieven, on Sat 13 Jun 6:02AM

  14. I am one of the rear breads of women that love football­ but to be totaly honest with everyone there is no­ footballer on this earth worth those sort of amounts of­ money just to play football they dont even know the­ dangers would they put there lives at risk for queen­ and country I DONT THINK SO ........... and now i­ will say goodbye to one of the horrid tempered men on­ the playing fields....................

    From Kieven, on Sat 13 Jun 6:00AM

  15. ronaldo traitor to the lovers of football,football was­ started bye the working classes for the working classes­ of england now its become rich mans pastime,i supported­ man utd as a kid,ive seen the­ best,charlton,law,best,crerrand,coppel,pearson,robson.k­ ean,mc ilroy,kid,and one of the worlds greatest­ giggs,shmiekle,lou macari,joe jordan,greenholfs,gordan­ strachan would run himsef to the ground just to wear­ the utd shirt.solshar.whiteside,cole,we wont argue that­ ronaldo is like bb king is to the blues but bb never­ sold out,i wish the lad well,but i think football will­ bacome a very rich mans game and deatroy itself with­ greed just like the roman empire,ps remember when you­ could be entholled bye a seond div match ,or when a­ match was stopped with fog because no fcuker could see­ the ball,remember when when your team got beat 4 3 but­ you went home happy because they played their heart­ out.run their socks of.see sky rupert murdoch decides­ what you whatch of any sport,thank god bbc got back­ f1,dont you see how this egosentric ex convict is­ rulling the lives of british people.he wants the rights­ to every british sport because of his wealth and media­ control,he even decides through his tabloids who­ governs britain,he is like bush with brains.he is an­ empathetic nazi but gets the job done anyway.this­ country and all its sport,which was not about winning­ but trying to win but applauding the losers, god bless­ the newcastle fans they will soon get back to the­ premier where they deserve to be, relegated but with­ such grace from thier fans i watched the match but no­ fan left the ground because to those working class­ folks football is their community and hope for the­ futore,im a salfodian but god bless the geordies and­ their hopes

    From peter_vallely, on Sat 13 Jun 5:45AM

  16. ronaldo traitor to the lovers of football,football was­ started bye the working classes for the working classes­ of england now its become rich mans pastime,i supported­ man utd as a kid,ive seen the­ best,charlton,law,best,crerrand,coppel,pearson,robson.k­ ean,mc ilroy,kid,and one of the worlds greatest­ giggs,shmiekle,lou macari,joe jordan,greenholfs,gordan­ strachan would run himsef to the ground just to wear­ the utd shirt.solshar.whiteside,cole,we wont argue that­ ronaldo is like bb king is to the blues but bb never­ sold out,i wish the lad well,but i think football will­ bacome a very rich mans game and deatroy itself with­ greed just like the roman empire,ps remember when you­ could be entholled bye a seond div match ,or when a­ match was stopped with fog because no fcuker could see­ the ball,remember when when your team got beat 4 3 but­ you went home happy because they played their heart­ out.run their socks of.see sky rupert murdoch decides­ what you whatch of any sport,thank god bbc got back­ f1,dont you see how this egosentric ex convict is­ rulling the lives of british people.he wants the rights­ to every british sport because of his wealth and media­ control,he even decides through his tabloids who­ governs britain,he is like bush with brains.he is an­ empathetic nazi but gets the job done anyway.this­ country and all its sport,which was not about winning­ but trying to win but applauding the losers, god bless­ the newcastle fans they will soon get back to the­ premier where they deserve to be, relegated but with­ such grace from thier fans i watched the match but no­ fan left the ground because to those working class­ folks football is their community and hope for the­ futore,im a salfodian but god bless the geordies and­ their hopes

    From peter_vallely, on Sat 13 Jun 5:45AM

  17. paul,
    no cheats? you must be forget england's great­ diver, stevie g.

    From Eric, on Sat 13 Jun 5:43AM

  18. Wow that is alot of money. If he doesn't know what­ to do with it, I got a good idea on what to spend it­ on. Why doesn't he give 500 pounds to evry married­ woman.
    From Sarah

    From jessica, on Sat 13 Jun 5:13AM

  19. Perhaps they could have mentioned millions of starving­ people arouind the world too. Fat chance!

    From Robert, on Sat 13 Jun 5:09AM

  20. rony is the best.Portugal all the way.was about­ time......

    From robertinho, on Sat 13 Jun 4:45AM
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