Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly now football’s first billionaire – and is just the latest record in a long line for the player.
Cristiano Ronaldo has joined an elite set of sportspeople – being worth more than $1 billion, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Ronaldo, aged 40, is the first footballer to join this group, which includes other sporting legends such as Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Roger Federer.
How Ronaldo came to be worth such a mind-boggling amount is a story that goes back more than 20 years. Between his debut in 2002 to 2023, he earned about $550 million in wages. On top of this came huge sponsorship deals with companies including Nike, Armani and Castrol. But it was his move to Saudi Arabia that really boosted his already huge wealth. When he signed for Al Nassr in 2023, he was on a salary of more than $237 million per year – plus bonuses – and he has just signed a new contract reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Ronaldo becoming the first footballer to hit the billionaire milestone is just the latest record he has achieved in a remarkable career. Here are some of his biggest records – than will be difficult to beat
International appearances
When Ronaldo made his debut for the senior Portugal side in 2003 at the age of 18, he was just a promising youngsters with some clever tricks. Now, more than 20 years later, Ronaldo has 223 caps for his national side – a men’s football record. He has also played in 11 major international tournaments during this time, leading his side to the Euro 2016 title.
Ronaldo is set to further this record as he has not retired from international duty as many others do when they get old and is set to play at his sixth World Cup next year in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Greatest goalscorer
Ronaldo has also become legendary for his goalscoring feats. At international level, he has scored 141 goals for the senior team – another men’s international football record.
His record at domestic level is no less impressive. In 1,068 senior appearances – itself a phenomenal amount – he has scored 805 goals. This includes 450 goals for Spanish side Real Madrid, a record for that side. He also scored more than 100 goals for Italian side Juventus and English team Manchester United.
Ronaldo is believed to be targeting 1,000 career goals before he hangs up his boots.
Champions League champion
Ronaldo dominated Europe’s premier club competition for many years in the 2000s and holds several records in it. This includes the most goals of any player in the Champions League – 140. His great rival, Lionel Messi, is second on the list with 129 goals.
He also became the first player to score in three finals in the Champions League era, as well as being the top scorer in the competition in six different seasons – another record.
Social media guru
Ronaldo’s records aren’t limited to the football pitch either. He became the first person to have more than one billion followers across major social media platforms. He is the most followed individual on Instagram, with more than 664 million followers, and also has hundreds of millions of followers on X (which everyone still calls Twitter), Facebook and YouTube. Then he also has a large presence on Chinese social media sites such as Weibo and Kuaishou.
YouTube record
Ronaldo had been a global icon for more than 10 years when he decided to create his YouTube channel, UR Cristiano, on August 21, 2024. While it was inevitable it would be hugely popular, nobody quite imagined just how big it would get – and how quickly. He had 1 million subscribers within 90 minutes and then set the record for the fastest to reach 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 million subscribers. The channel is even the most subscribed to in Portugal, beating the local Nick Jr channel.
