Cristiano Ronaldo had to pay out some serious cash after his residence at a Saudi Arabia hotel was up.
Cristiano Ronaldo was once left with an astounding hotel bill after finally leaving a Saudi Arabia hotel.
When the five-time Ballon d’Or winner first moved to Al Nassr – becoming the springboard for the arrival of a slew of high-profile signings in the Saudi Pro League – he took up residence in the Four Seasons hotel in Riyadh.
According to reports, Ronaldo brought his whole entourage to the luxury hotel – including family, friends and security.
In total, the group are said to have occupied total of 17 rooms, Ronaldo staying in the two-floor Kingdom Suite.
With great views of the capital the cost to live in such glamourous soundings did not come on the cheap as outlets claimed Ronaldo had to shell out £250,000 per month.
However the fact that Ronaldo is reportedly earning around £173-million-a-year from Al Nassr, on top of all his commercial and sponsorship fees, means it won’t have had too much of a negative impact on his finances.The 39-year-old and his crew are believed to have relocated for a permanent residence, living in an exclusive compound with a huge security presence and easy access to restaurants, shops, gyms and other amenities.The Portuguese superstar reportedly has quite the portfolio of properties, including two in his hometown of Madeira, one in Turin, a Marbella holiday pad and a £17 million retirement residency in Quinta da Marinha, on the Portuguese Riviera.Ronaldo also bought a Madrid mansion for £5 million in July 2010 and it was reported that the property, based in the upmarket La Finca neighbourhood back.
Image: Getty
It was claimed that the seven bedroom house is so big that Ronaldo’s other half Georgina Rodriguez got lost at first.
Meanwhile, last year Mundo Deportivo reported that Ronaldo was renting out the property for €10,000 (£8,800) per month.
Ronaldo is currently preparing for his second full season with Saudi club Al Nassr. Last month, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner captained Portugal at Euro 2024 but was beaten by France in the quarter finals.
Al Nassr will face Porto and Lusitano 1911 in their final warm-up matches ahead of the 2024/25 season before taking on Al Taawoun in their Saudi Super Cup semi-final on August 14.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
Topics: Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League, Football
Ronaldo held talks with several other clubs before joining Al Nassr.
And things could have turned out very differently, had he accepted an offer from Sporting Kansas City.
Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes told the Kansas City Star that the club held multiple meetings with senior representatives of Ronaldo before his move to Saudi Arabia and claimed negotiations “took on real legs”.
The Athletic report that at the time the MLS had an internal database of 50 players who would bring the greatest value to the league if recruited, with Lionel Messi and Ronaldo placed at No 1 and No 2, and Kylian Mbappe ranked third.
According to the report, Messi had not yet joined Inter Miami at the point Sporting KC entered negotiations with Ronaldo.
The MLS side were said to be “serious” with their approach and had suggested “creative packages that would have involved cuts of international jersey sales and potentially a stake in the ownership of the club”.
According to the Kansas City Star, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick – who has a stake in Sporting KC – was prepared to explain to Ronaldo what it is like to live as a sporting superstar in the city.
Ronaldo held talks with the MLS club (Image: Getty)
“The feedback was positive and one meeting became another, with senior figures at the team convinced they were down to the final two before Ronaldo opted for Saudi Arabia,” added the report.
The Athletic report claim that a move to the United States for Ronaldo was previously deemed as unlikely by multiple senior executives from other clubs due to several factors.
It is claimed that there had been a “quiet acceptance” that a transfer would not happen due to the costs involved in the signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, combined with “publicity that had surrounded” rape allegations made against him in the US.
Former model and teacher Kathryn Mayorga alleged that the former Manchester United and Real Madrid footballer raped her at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
Ronaldo has always vehemently denied the allegations and has never been charged.
Mayorga reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010, worth a reported $375,000 (£304,000).
In 2022, a US judge dismissed a lawsuit against Ronaldo brought by Mayorga, which could have seen the alleged payment increase by millions of dollars.
Last summer, the likes of Karim Benzema, Neymar, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Ruben Neves all signed for Saudi Arabian clubs.
It has been widely reported that the Saudi Arabian clubs managed to lure players away from European football due to their far superior financial power.
Ahead of the new season, the top 10 highest salaries from the Saudi Professional League have been revealed.
According to Capology, Ronaldo is the highest-earning player in Saudi Arabia, making a gross of €200 million per year.
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The Portuguese’s salary is double of the next highest-paid players, former Madrid teammate Benzema and ex-Barcelona star Neymar, both are reportedly on €100 million per annum.
Former Premier League stars Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly, Aymeric Laporte, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Kante were all included in the list, as was Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Here are the top 10 highest-earning players in the Saudi Professional League:
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Al Nassr – €200 million
- Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad – €100 million
- Neymar – Al Hilal – €100 million
- Riyad Mahrez – €52.5 million
- Sadio Mane – Al Nassr – €40 million
- Kalidou Koulibaly – Al Hilal – €34.7 million
- Aleksandar Mitrovic – Al Hilal – €25 million
- Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Al Hilal – €25 million
- N’Golo Kante – Al Ittihad – €25 million
- Aymeric Laporte – Al Nassr – €24.5 million
This summer, the likes of Casemiro, Ederson, Alisson Becker and Kevin De Bruyne have all been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
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Cristiano Ronaldo was paid a substantial amount of money from a firm in Saudi Arabia long before his lucrative switch to Al Nassr.
Back in January 2022, Ronaldo ditched European football to sign with Saudi Professional League side Al Nassr.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward is a marketing machine and has brought new eyes to football in the Middle East.
On the pitch, he’s scored 38 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is still going strong at the ripe old age of 38.
With his salary broken down, Ronaldo is essentially earning £514,000 per day and £21,400 per hour. But incredibly, the rates are much cheaper there than what a company forked out for his services back in 2017.
The eye-opening Football Leaks book from by Der Spiegel journalists Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger uncovered details on how much it costs to hire one of the most famous people in the world.
The book reveals that Mobily, a Saudi telecoms business, struck a deal with Ronaldo’s Irish image rights company, Multisports & Image Management.
They would get four-and-a-half hours of his time and this comprised of a photo-shoot, five signed shirts and two plugs across his social media channels, where he is said to earn around £1.6 million per sponsored post.
Getty
Mobily were allowed to use images that were taken on the day, but the advertising was only regional as the publication was limited to the Middle East and North Africa area.
For all of the above, Ronaldo and his representatives charged the company an enormous £920,000. Not too shabby at all.
So far in the 23/24 season, Al Nassr have picked up 34 points from 14 games and currently sit second in the Saudi Pro League table behind leaders Al Hilal.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@Cristiano
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League
Back in January 2022, Ronaldo ditched European football to sign with Saudi Professional League side Al Nassr.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward is a marketing machine and has brought new eyes to football in the Middle East.
Ronaldo is still going strong at the age of 39 and is still collecting records, recently becoming the Saudi Pro League’s record holder for goals in a single season with 35 strikes in 31 appearances.
He hit 34 goals in 26 games in the 2018/19 campaign.
The eye-opening Football Leaks book from by Der Spiegel journalists Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger uncovered details on how much it costs to hire one of the most famous people in the world.
The book reveals that Mobily, a Saudi telecoms business, struck a deal with Ronaldo’s Irish image rights company, Multisports & Image Management.
They would get four-and-a-half hours of his time and this comprised of a photo-shoot, five signed shirts and two plugs across his social media channels, where he is said to earn around £1.6 million per sponsored post.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the highest paid players in the world (Getty)
Mobily were allowed to use images that were taken on the day, but the advertising was only regional as the publication was limited to the Middle East and North Africa area.
For all of the above, Ronaldo and his representatives charged the company an enormous £920,000. Not too shabby at all.
Despite Ronaldo’s record-breaking season on the pitch, Al-Nassr were unable to overcome rivals Al-Hilal who lifted the title, finishing 14 points ahead of Ronaldo’s side who finished second.
He is under contract until the summer of 2025.
