Cristiano Ronaldo bags 'long-term' Nike deal
Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (R) and club president Florentino Perez pose during the official presentation of Ronaldo's contract renewal, keeping him at the club until the 30th of June 2021. GERARD JULIEN / AFP
MADRID, Spain – A day after signing a bumper fresh contract with Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has boosted his mind-boggling earnings with a new deal with Nike, the American sports giant said on Tuesday, November 8 (Wednesday in Manila).
Together the multimillion mega-deals are expected to cement Ronaldo's status as the world's highest-paid sportsman, ahead of great Barcelona rival Lionel Messi.
According to American magazine Forbes, Ronaldo trumped Messi in 2016 with an income of $88 million (80 million euros, £71 million).
There are no concrete figures, but Ronaldo's new 5-year contract with Real is expected to net the 31-year-old Portuguese forward in the region of a basic salary of 25 million euros a year.
He could also bag up to 40 million euros a year for the Nike deal, according to Marca.
Marca and AS, the Spanish sports dailies, said the Nike deal is for life, rather like the one between Nike and basketball legend Michael Jordan.
"I have a great relationship with this brand, I have great friends here in the company," Ronaldo said in a Nike press release announcing a "new, long-term contract".
"We work as a family too," he added.
"This is my brand."
Ronaldo on Monday signalled his intention to keep playing for 10 more years after rounding off a "dream year".
The 3-time World Player of the Year has enjoyed his most successful year at a collective level, scoring the winning penalty as Madrid won the Champions League for an 11th time in May before captaining Portugal to their first major tournament win at Euro 2016. – Rappler.com
