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Fantastic figure, right? Any player would not refuse this and Cristiano might be the first player at the age of 40 to get such a deal.
Fantastic figure, right? Any player would not refuse this and Cristiano might be the first player at the age of 40 to get such a deal.
Including bonus and everything, it will be close to £200 million per year ($275 million). But again, we need to remember that this is the final contract in his playing career. Back in 2021, his annual salary at Manchester United was just £25 million. And then we have some shameless creatures who complain that Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia because he is greedy. Football is just like any other profession. When you are getting paid 1/8th of what you are worth, the best option is to look for another contract with another employer. Those who complain about it are just pure hypocrites.
I think you are getting something wrong here because in a normal career, players want to play in the most competitive leagues and they get paid for their performances primarily. Ronaldo doesn't get paid for performances anymore, the timer are over. He is getting paid for the public attention he is drawing to the SPL. The Saudis want his face in the league, they want his followers to have Saudi Arabia on their minds. It doesn't matter whether he scores 15 goals or 30 goals.
The EPL could never pay for only the face and public attention. If they were to pay £200 million per year, it would destroy the whole salary system over there and the public and competitors wouldn't accept it. There are rules in place. Now the Saudis decided to polish their reputation by paying Ronaldo £200 million per year and giving him a whole team that has to work for him 24/7. Ronaldo wouldn't go to Saudi Arabia for £50 million per year and the Saudis know it. There is a reason Ronaldo played for "just" £25 million in the best leagues in the world and now wants to be reimbursed to lend his face to a league he would otherwise never play for.