Cristiano Ronaldo has donated millions, but here’s why WWE legend John Cena is the world’s biggest-hearted sports star
SPORTS stars around the world are joining together as the coronavirus crisis grips the world.
Footballers have joined together on Instagram, sharing their thoughts of combating the illness, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic has set up a fundraiser to help fight the pandemic.
But, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, WWE star John Cena and Serena Williams have always been charitable souls, giving their time and money to charity.
While SunSport told you how Juan Mata founded Common Goal, an initiative that several athletes have signed up to donate 1 per cent of their salaries to charity.
So, before you slam these athletes for earning too much money, here's what good they can do in the world.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
He's the highest paid athlete in the world, earning around £80MILLION-per-year.
And Ronaldo is also equally as generous with his cash when it comes to helping others.
In 2004, Ronaldo flew to Indonesia to aid victims of the tsunami after seeing footage of a man wearing a Portugal shirt with his name on it.
Back in May 2015, he reportedly made a £5m donation to a charity providing aid in Nepal following their horrific earthquake.
He also donated more than £50k to help pay for a 10-year-old's brain surgery, and gave over £100k for a cancer centre in Portugal that treated his mum.
Most recently, Ronaldo donated one of his Ballon d'Or trophies to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who received a £530k donation for it.
JOHN CENA
Cena's philanthropy is off the charts.
Being a sports star and working in Hollywood means that Cena is always flying to high-profile meetings.
In 2011, he revealed on Twitter that he had 9 million frequent flyer miles and he donated them all to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
He did exactly the same in 2013, this time giving away 4.5 million miles.
He has won awards for his charity work, including the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award, as well as a special recognition award.
Cena took part in a fundraiser for the NYPD’ and NYFD’ widow and children benefits fund, offering a meet and greet for cash.
He is now a Wish ambassador, and is said to have granted over 6000 Make-A-Wish dreams for his fans.
The organisation recently confirmed he is their most requested celebrity.
JUAN MATA
In 2017, the Manchester United forward helped launch Common Goal with a charitable movement called streetfootballworld.
In an article written through The Players' Tribune, Mata called on his fellow professionals to join him in donating 1% of their salaries to the charity.
The money is put towards helping high-impact football charities around the world.
Mata wrote the aim was to: "Unlock 1% of the entire football industry's revenues for grassroots football charities that strengthen their communities through sport."
Mata has been supported by fellow professionals, including Giorgio Chiellini and Mats Hummels.
SERENA WILLIAMS
She's one of the best tennis players ever to play the game, and she's the biggest female sports star charity giver.
Back in 2008, when she was just 17, Williams set up the Serena Williams Foundation.
The aim was to help guide American youth off the streets and away from violence.
The foundation also created the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya which provides college scholarships for underprivileged kids.
In 2011, Serena was appointed a UNICEF international goodwill ambassador.
She's partnered with organisations including Beyond the Boroughs Scholarship Fund, The Equal Justice initiative, The Caliber Foundation and Build Africa Schools.
Her work has continued to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and The HollyRod Foundation.
YUNA KIM
The South Korean gold-medallist figure skater is another generous sports star who works hard to help others.
Like Williams, Kim is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and gives up a lot of her time travelling around the world.
She donated around £50k of her earnings to Haiti earthquake victims through UNICEF.
She's also made extra donations over the years, as well as appeared on promotional videos for the charity.
In 2012, she wrote about the importance of water sanitation on their website.
She penned: "When I was a young girl, I dreamt of winning an Olympic medal for my country in figure skating.
"I was able to make this dream come true because I could take for granted things that hundreds of millions of children cannot.
"Among the most significant of these are clean water and proper sanitation services."
NEYMAR
The most expensive footballer in the world is also one of the biggest givers.
The Brazilian has his own family charity foundation called the Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr.
Their aim is to help the poor kids of Sao Paulo, where the PSG forward spend a lot of his time as a child, with their socio-cultural development.
He visited the centre in 2016, giving an emotional speech to his students saying how they inspire him to win trophies.
"I could not come to Brazil and not visit here," Neymar said.
"It is my family's dream and I am always happy every time I visit.
"It makes me want to keep growing this and doing this the right way.
"The love I get from the kids, the conversations we have... it gives me strength to return to Barcelona and keep running after more trophies.
"It makes me really happy to do something for these kids and their families."
LEBRON JAMES
The world's highest paid basketball star, and second in the world of highest paid athletes, is a caring soul.
He set up the LeBron James Family Foundation, which raises money and donates to several charities.
Lucky recipients have included Boys and Girls Clubs of America, After-School All-Stars, the Children’s Defense Fund, Gabriel’s Angle Foundation and ONEXONE.
Back in 2015, King James set-up the After-School All-Stars designed to help kids through college in his hometown of Akron, Cleveland.
To date, he's raised over £30m for the program, sponsoring over 800 kids and he hopes to extend the charity's work through Ohio.
He gave away £2.5m of the proceeds from his ESPN special 'The Decision' to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
LeBron also donated £1.8m to the National Museum of African American History for a Muhammad Ali exhibit.
HEATHER O'REILLY
The former US women's World Cup winner, who also played for Arsenal Ladies Football Club, loves to do her bit for charity.
In fact, she was part of the Common Goal group, happily donating 1% of her salary before retiring.
Heather has given over signed jerseys to America Scores, who specialise in after-school programs for kids.
She's also an international ambassador for Right to Play, travelling to their programs in Rwanda.
They're a group that encourages education to empower impoverished kids.
Speaking of her Rwanda visit, she said: “Right To Play is incredible.
“In two days being here we’ve met some amazing kids, and the games they play are more than just throwing a ball around the field – they’re using their brains and bodies and are learning about themselves and their communities through these games.”
MARIA SHARAPOVA
Over the years, the former world number one tennis star has been very charitable.
Through her Maria Sharapova Foundation, she has supported Great Ormond Street Hospital, Wish Upon A Hero, Hero in Heels and many more.
In 2016 she joined the Elton John AIDS Foundation in raising money by competing in the World TeamTennis (WTT) Smash Hits.
Sharapova was a UN goodwill ambassador before she was suspended for testing positive for drugs.
However, she was reinstated in the role when her suspension was reduced in 2016.
She was originally selected for the role for her charity work on behalf of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
It was a cause close to her heart, after her parents fled the Belarusian city of Gomel, just 80 miles away from Chernobyl, when her mum was expecting the future tennis champ.
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TOM DALEY
He may not be the highest earner on the list, but Tom Daley doesn't shirk his responsibilities when it comes to charity.
Daley went on TV to present an appeal on behalf of the Brain Tumour Charity in 2017.
The organisation that supports people living with a brain tumour, as well as funds research to find a cure is dear to the diver's heart.
The Olympic bronze medallist lost his father in 2011 to the diseases and witnessed first hand the work they did.
Tom said: “The Brain Tumour Charity is doing so much to change the future for people like my dad – funding research to find a cure as well as raising awareness of the disease and its impact."
Daley and his husband Dustin Lance Black also donated proceeds from a wedding video they put on social media to LGBT charities.
RICHARD SHERMAN
The San Francisco 49ers cornerback was inspired to do his bit for charity by a speech made by Magic Johnson at his high school when he was a kid.
Since then, the NFL star nicknamed Optimus Prime, created the Blanket Coverage organisation.
Set up in 2013, its aim is to provide school students with supplies for school.
And he's so dedicated to his charity work, he ducked out of his annual celebrity softball game this year to spend more time with his charity.
As well as Blanket Coverage, Sherman has also pledged support and some his £42m per-year salary to many other causes.
Those include, The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, MAD MAC Foundation and the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation.
