00:00Cristiano Ronaldo has become the football world's first billionaire, first billionaire player,
00:06first billionaire player in the twilight of his playing career.
00:09The 40-year-old has been catapulted into the top ranks of the richest sports people,
00:14inking a fresh contract extension in June with Saudi Arabian team Al Nasser
00:19that is reportedly worth more than $400 million.
00:22Joining me now is our Portugal bureau chief, Sofia Horta Icosta.
00:26Sofia, great to talk to you about Ronaldo and this incredible wealth.
00:29How has he done it?
00:32So what's really unusual about this, Tom, is that actually the bulk of his wealth comes from salary
00:37and also mostly from the Saudi move.
00:42So it was a really lucrative move for him.
00:45Let's not forget that, obviously, in Saudi Arabia there's no income tax,
00:49so he's benefited from that significantly.
00:51But a net worth of $1.4 billion.
00:54Now, most of the billionaire athletes that the Bloomberg Billionaire Index tracks
00:59like Roger Federer or, you know, the majority of that comes from sponsorships
01:08or ownerships in other companies.
01:11But Ronaldo is purely from being on the field, which is very unique among athletes.
01:16And I'm assuming, Sofia, he's not keeping all this money in the bank.
01:21Is he investing it?
01:22Do we know how active he is as an investor?
01:25So we do know.
01:26It's quite sporadic, actually.
01:29He tends to invest a lot in Portugal, which is why we're looking at this.
01:35You know, he's bought a local, very well-known local ceramics company.
01:40He likes paddles, so he bought a paddle court chain here in Portugal as well.
01:46He's invested in hotel chains, one that's based in his home island of Medaida.
01:51But he doesn't really have a kind of formal investing structure quite yet.
01:57He does work very closely with a very select group of people.
02:01He doesn't trust a lot of people, and one of them is a wealth manager based here in Lisbon,
02:06actually just up the road from where I am right now.
02:09And, you know, he declined to comment for the story.
02:13But the thinking is there could be more formal structure going forward.
02:17Now, if you ask Ronaldo what his life will be after football, he doesn't like that question
02:22because he always says, I am still playing.
02:25I am still a footballer.
02:27I am not retired, but he has said that he wants to own maybe one or several football clubs
02:32following in the footsteps of, you know, David Beckham and others who have gone down that path.
02:37And also Brazilian Ronaldo, let's not forget the original Ronaldo, also owns the club in Spain.
02:42So, let's not forget the original Ronaldo, let's not forget the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of the title of
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