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In what would go down as a football transfer market for the ages, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United this season as many as 12 years after leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2009. After his nine-year stint at Madrid, he had Juventus where he remained until 2021.
While it is being said that the star footballer took a slight pay cut to reunite with his former team, he still happens to be the highest-earning player in the English Premier League. Before the five-time Ballon d'Or award-winner's entry into the English top-flight, it was Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne who was believed to be getting the highest wages with an estimated salary of £380,000 per week but post Ronaldo's arrival if there was ever any doubt regarding the highest earner, it has now been cleared.
Apart from earning on the pitch, Ronaldo earns handsomely from endorsements and sponsorships deals
Reports from Daily Mail suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo's salary at Old Trafford is around £385,000 per week. This implies that the record goalscorer for Portugal took around a £6 million pay cut to join the Red Devils after leaving Juventus. It is also believed that Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, tried to negotiate a salary of £20m per year. And now as per the latest salary break-up cited in Daily Mail, the 36-year-old is believed to be earning an initial salary of £13 million (€15m/$18m) with add-ons of up to £7m (€8m/$9m).
Meanwhile, Ronaldo's net worth is estimated to be around a scarcely believable $500m (£363m). While much of his net worth is because of his handsome salary in every sense of the word which he has received from football clubs in his career, he also earns a lot of money from endorsements and sponsorships deals. As per the Forbes 2021 list of the highest-paid athletes in the world, Ronaldo has been ranked the third highest with a combined earning of $170m through just his performances on the football pitch.
When it comes to the highest-paid players in the Premier League, other than Ronaldo and De Bruyne, another United player features in the list and it is none other than their goalkeeper David De Gea who earns a wage of £375,000 per week. Manchester City duo of Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling complete the list of top five earners in the Premier League with a wage of £300,000 a week.