Cristiano Ronaldo Scores Massive Payday In Latest Career Move

As the most followed person in the world on Instagram with more than 526 million followers, it's safe to say Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has a massive fan base. The five-time FIFA player of the year is also one of the highest-paid athletes in history, with more than $1 billion in career earnings, per Forbes, naturally leading sports fans to be interested in his every move. 

Ronaldo's intense popularity seemingly puts him front and center in the spotlight, with his recent departure from Manchester United disrupting the world of sports, reports ESPN. In November, days before parting ways with Manchester United, the star soccer player didn't hold back his distaste for the management at the British soccer club during a bombshell interview on "TalkTV" with celebrity host Piers Morgan. Ronaldo told Morgan he felt "betrayed" by senior executives working at Manchester United. "Not only the coach, but the other two or three guys around the club," he revealed. "Some people don't want me here, not only this year, but last year, too." 

Ronaldo officially departed from Manchester United "by mutual agreement" on November 22, per a team statement, and left soccer fans were left in limbo about his future. However, it appears Ronaldo has already moved on nearly one month later, landing a reported nine-figure paycheck in a record-breaking career deal.

Cristiano Ronaldo's new agreement with Saudi Arabian soccer club Al-Nassr just scored him a record-breaking payday in sports. According to CNBC, Ronaldo will earn close to $200 million per year with endorsement deals as part of signing a contract with Al-Nassr until June 2025 — topping the largest salary ever received in professional football. His contract with Al-Nassr reportedly equals out to $1 million a week in earnings, a hefty difference from the star player's paycheck of $605,000 per week at Manchester United.

Al-Nassr has deemed Ronaldo's trade "History in the making" upon announcing the news on December 30, per the team's Twitter account. "This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves," said the club. "Welcome @Cristiano to your new home @AlNassrFC."

Ronaldo responded to his big career move in a statement to ESPN, sharing: "I am excited to experience a new football league in a different country." He added, "The vision of what Al-Nassr are doing and developing in Saudi Arabia both in terms of men's and women's football is very inspiring. We can see from Saudi Arabia's recent performance at the World Cup that this is a country with big football ambitions and a lot of potential."