Info Category: Richest Athletes › Soccer Players Net Worth:R$160 Million Date of Birth: Sep 18, 1976 (47 years old) Place 🏧 of Birth: Rio de Janeiro Gender: Male Height: 6 ft (1.83 m) Profession: Football player, Actor Nationality: Brazil 💰 Compare 🏧 Ronaldo's Net Worth
What is Ronaldo's Net Worth and Salary?
Ronaldo is a retired Brazilian football player who has a net worth 🏧 ofR$160 million. Also known as "R9" or "O Fenomeno" (The Phenomenon), Ronaldo made a massive impact (and a massive amount 🏧 of money) on the game of football despite a relatively short time in the spotlight. He was a goalscoring machine 🏧 who led Brazil to a memorable World Cup title in 2002. He is also credited with reinventing the way strikers 🏧 play football. At his peak, Ronaldo was considered the best player in the world. He is currently considered one of 🏧 the best players of all time.
He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times, and he has 🏧 received the Balon d'Or award twice. To this day, he is the youngest ever player to receive the Balon d'Or, 🏧 having first won it at the age of 21. He was also the youngest person to ever win the FIFA 🏧 World Player of the Year award at age 20. Professional clubs were willing to pay exorbitant sums to have Ronaldo 🏧 on their teams, and he twice broke the world record signing fee.
In terms of goal-scoring ability, he is one of 🏧 the highest-scoring players of all time. He scored 62 goals for Brazil, and only Pele has scored more for his 🏧 country. At age 23, he had scored 200 goals for club and country. However, Ronaldo's career faded abruptly with a 🏧 sudden onset of serious injuries. It what seemed like a blink of an eye, Ronaldo disappeared from the game of 🏧 football as quickly as he had appeared.
After leaving the game, Ronaldo became closely involved with philanthropic work, becoming a United 🏧 Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. He also served as an ambassador for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2024, Ronaldo 🏧 purchased a team in the Spanish La Liga called Real Valladolid, and in 2024, a controlling stake in Cruzeiro.
Early Life
Ronaldo 🏧 Luiz Nazario de Lima was born on September 18th of 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Raised alongside two siblings, 🏧 Ronaldo played soccer in the streets of Rio from a young age. Shortly after his parents divorced when he was 🏧 11, Ronaldo dropped out of school to pursue a career as a professional soccer player. He began his career as 🏧 a futsal player (indoor soccer), joining a youth league and quickly becoming the lead scorer in the entire city's league. 🏧 In his first season alone, he scored 166 goals. Futsal was an important part of Ronaldo's development, helping him learn 🏧 technical skills and close ball control that would become his key strengths in his later playing career. Ronaldo was quickly 🏧 signed by sports agents.
Career
Ronaldo made his professional debut for the Brazilian side Cruzeiro in 1993. While still a 16-year-old, he 🏧 scored five goals in one match and started to attract international attention. After scoring 44 goals in 47 games during 🏧 his first season, Ronaldo joined the Brazilian World Cup squad in 1994, but only as an unused substitute.
After the World 🏧 Cup, Ronaldo joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. After scoring 30 goals in his first season, some were already wondering whether 🏧 Ronaldo had what it took to be the best player of all time, despite being just 18. His second season 🏧 at PSV was marred by a knee injury. Before the 1996-1997 season, Ronaldo joined Barcelona for a then-world-record fee ofR$19.5 🏧 million. During his first season, he scored an unbelievable 47 goals in all competitions and ended 1996 with a FIFA 🏧 World Player of the Year Award.
Ronaldo spent just one season at Barcelona before moving to Inter Milan, again breaking the 🏧 world record with a signing fee ofR$27 million. Although he had to adapt to the Italian style of play during 🏧 the first season, he eventually became a more complete striker during his time at Inter and won his first Ballon 🏧 d'Or.
In 1998, Ronaldo entered the FIFA World Cup as a starting striker for Brazil, and many considered him to be 🏧 the best player on the planet. He scored continuously throughout the tournament before a convulsive fit threatened to take him 🏧 out of the final. He miraculously recovered just hours before kickoff, but he seemed dazed and Brazil lost the final 🏧 to France. Later, a neurologist determined that Ronaldo should not have been allowed to play while feeling the aftereffects of 🏧 a seizure.
In the years that followed, Ronaldo began to have serious issues with his knees. In 2000, he suffered a 🏧 complete rupture of his kneecap tendons. This caused Ronaldo to miss almost three years of professional sport, although he returned 🏧 in 2002 to help Brazil win the World Cup. That year, he also signed with Real Madrid for 46 million 🏧 Euros. He was one of Real's key players, but Ronaldo suffered from continuous injury and weight issues during his time 🏧 in Madrid.
After playing one last time for Brazil in the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo transferred to A.C. Milan in 2007 🏧 for 8.05 million Euros. In 2008, he suffered another serious knee injury and joined the Brazilian club Corinthians shortly thereafter. 🏧 In 2011, he officially retired, revealing for the first time that he suffered from hyperthyroidism – which explained his weight 🏧 gain issues. In addition, he admitted that his body simply couldn't continue after suffering so many injuries, even though mentally 🏧 he wanted to keep going. His entire footballing career lasted 18 years.
Nike Contract
Nike was quick to sign Ronaldo to a 🏧 lucrative contract. In 1996, he signed a 10-year contract and lifetime brand endorsement deal with Nike forR$180 million. Shortly after 🏧 the contract was signed, Nike designed the now-famous Mercurial R9 soccer boot for him. He wore the boots at the 🏧 1998 FIFA World Cup, and ever since then, they have become some of Nike's most successful boots. In the years 🏧 that passed, similar Mercurial boots were designed for players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe. Ronaldo also appeared in a 🏧 range of Nike commercials over the years.
Other Brand Endorsements
Outside of his commitment to Nike, Ronaldo has appeared in a range 🏧 of other commercials over the years. Some of his most notable appearances were in Snickers and Pirelli commercials, and he 🏧 is also a regular feature in EA's "FIFA" video game franchise.
Club Ownership
In 2024, it was announced that Ronaldo had purchased 🏧 a controlling stake in the La Liga club Real Valladolid. He paid approximately 30 million Euros for a 51% stake 🏧 in the team, making him the majority owner. After the acquisition, Ronaldo announced that he was approaching his new managerial 🏧 role with the utmost seriousness, stating that he wanted to build "the best team possible."
In December 2024, he purchased a 🏧 controlling stake in Cruzeiro, his boyhood club, for 400 million reais ($70 million at the time).
Personal Life
Ronaldo met Brazilian model 🏧 and actress Susana Werner in 1997, and the couple held a longterm relationship and lived together in Milan until 1999. 🏧 In December 1999, he married Brazilian footballer Milene Domingues who was pregnant with his first son, and they divorced four 🏧 years later. In 2005, Ronaldo became engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela Cicarelli, but the relationship lasted only 🏧 three months. In 2008, he got engaged to Maria Beatriz Antony, and they had two daughters together. In December 2010, 🏧 a paternity test confirmed that Ronaldo is the father of a boy named Alexander who was born after a brief 🏧 relationship with a Brazilian waitress named Michele Umezu. Ronaldo first met Umezu in Tokyo in 2002. After confirmation of a 🏧 fourth child, Ronaldo had a vasectomy.
