Cristiano Ronaldo signs ‘£1BILLION lifetime contract with Nike’ only days after agreeing £500,000 a week Real Madrid contract
It's little surprise the footballer was listed by Forbes as the highest earning athlete of 2016, pocketing £71million
CRISTIANO RONALDO has agreed a new lifetime contract with sports giant Nike that will earn him an astonishing £1billion.
Only a day after putting pen to paper on a new contract with Real Madrid until 2021 that will see him pocket £500,000 a week after tax, Nike have moved swiftly to get their man.
A spokesperson for Nike told SunSport: "The successful partnership between Nike and Cristiano Ronaldo will continue well into the future with a new, long-term contract.
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"Ronaldo is having yet another incredible year, for both club and country, and is unquestionably an icon of the game. He transcends football and is the most popular athlete on social media and the most famous athlete in the world."
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Although the corporation has refused to confirm the £1billion figure, reports that it follows similar negotiations to LeBron James' lifetime contract, worth in excess of £1billion.
The Portuguese star's new deal at the Bernabeu will take him to 2021, when he will be 36.
He is expected to pocket £225m for the duration. It's no surprise Forbes listed him as the highest grossing athlete for 2016 as he collected in £71million.
And the three-time Ballon d’Or winner insists he still wants to carry on playing after his new contract runs out.
He said: “I don’t know the future.
"I know this is my penultimate contract. After that, I don’t know.
"I don’t know at what age I’ll stop."
Ronaldo is six off 500 career goals — and admits it is a something he is targeting.
However, he has stressed it’s winning trophies that drives him forward.
And one trophy is nominated for is the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
Ronaldo would become only the second player — after Lionel Messi — to win the prize if he is claims the honour this year, as expected.
The 31-year-old won the Champions League and Euro 2016, and is favourite to land the award.
He has already beaten Lionel Messi to one piece of silverware this season. In a winning week for the Real Madrid man he scooped the Alfredo di Stefano trophy for being the best player in La Liga last season.