Photo Description: YEREVAN, ARMENIA, SEPTEMBER 6, 2025: Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal celebrates his goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying match between Armenia and Portugal at Republican Stadium in Yerevan, September 6, 2025. Author: YantsImages
With a new Al Nassr deal through 2027, 99 goals in 111 Saudi games, and a Portugal call-up for his sixth World Cup, Ronaldo isn’t retiring — he’s renegotiating immortality
RIYADH — Cristiano Ronaldo signed his name on June 26, 2025, in a room with no cameras, just a gold pen and a contract the size of a small novel. Two years, through his 42nd birthday. The headline number leaked within hours: £492 million total, £488,000 per day, £178 million annual base salary.
The details were more telling: €200 million annual salary plus €60 million in image rights, a £24.5 million signing bonus, a 15% ownership stake in Al Nassr, a private jet, 16 full-time staff paid by the club, and an $8 million bonus specifically for winning the Saudi Pro League. Tax-free.
It is, by every metric, the most lucrative contract in sports history.
Ronaldo, born February 5, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, is now 41. He joined Al Nassr in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United. Since then: 93 goals in 105 appearances (club figures), or 99 goals in 111 games by independent counts, and 74 goals in 77 league appearances in his first two full seasons. In 2025-26, under new coach Jorge Jesus — appointed July 2025 — he is again Al Nassr’s top scorer as the club chases its 50th consecutive top-flight season.
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The Forbes Math
Last year, Ronaldo reclaimed the top of the Forbes athletes list with a record payday: $235 million on-field from Saudi Arabia, plus $65 million off-field from endorsements, sponsorships, licensing and his CR7 businesses — $300 million total, the most ever recorded for an active athlete.
His off-field income is powered by more than a billion followers across social platforms, lifetime Nike deal (estimated $1bn), Binance, Herbalife, and his own hotels, gyms, and water brand. Net worth is now estimated at $800 million.
The new deal is actually “lower” than his first Saudi contract — that was reported at over $200 million annually including commercial rights — but it adds equity. The 15% stake means when he stops playing, he starts owning.
The 1,000 Goal Obsession
Ronaldo has never hidden the target. He is currently on around 895 official career goals (club + country). He needs 105 more.
Staying in Saudi Arabia gives him that runway. The Pro League plays 34 games, plus King’s Cup, Super Cup, and AFC Champions League Two — up to 50 matches a season. At his current rate (0.89 goals per game at Al Nassr), two more seasons gets him close.
“I will stay until 2027,” he told Saudi TV after signing, “because I want to reach 1,000. And because I want to win here.”
Al Nassr has not won the league since he arrived — Al Hilal and Al Ittihad have. The $8 million title bonus is not ceremonial.
Word cup six
The contract was timed for one other reason: the 2026 World Cup.
Ronaldo is already named in Portugal’s preliminary squad. FIFA lists him for group games on June 17, 2026 vs Congo DR and June 23 vs Uzbekistan, both at NRG Stadium in Houston. If he plays, it will be his sixth World Cup — a men’s record.
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez has built the team around a younger core (Rafael Leão, João Neves, Gonçalo Ramos), but keeps Ronaldo as captain and penalty-box finisher. He scored 10 goals in Euro 2024 qualifying at 39. He still starts for Portugal.
“He is not a marketing pick,” Martínez said in March. “He is our top scorer in the last 18 months.”
The Business of CR7
In Riyadh, Ronaldo is more than a player. He is the league’s billboard. Since his arrival:
- Saudi Pro League international TV rights went from $10m to $120m annually
- Al Nassr Instagram grew from 800k to 58 million
- Every away game is sold out
The Saudi PIF, which owns Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli, uses Ronaldo as soft power for the 2034 World Cup bid. His contract reportedly includes ambassadorial duties — though Al Nassr denies formal World Cup commitments.
Why he Stays
At 41, Ronaldo could have returned to Sporting Lisbon for a farewell. He chose Riyadh because Riyadh let him keep control: of his minutes, his brand, his narrative.
He trains twice a day, sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber, spends $1 million a year on recovery. He has not drunk alcohol since 2005. He is, by his own design, a machine built to outlast Messi, outlast time, outlast criticism.
The new deal makes him player-owner, father-coach (son Cristiano Jr., 15, is in Al Nassr academy), and living proof that in modern football, longevity is the ultimate luxury.
As he posted after signing: “Al-Nassr forever.”
Forever, in Ronaldo’s terms, means until 2027 — or until he hits 1,000. Whichever comes last.
