Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed to a new lifetime contract with sports giant Nike that will earn him an astonishing $1.25 billion.
Only a day after putting pen to paper on a new contract with Real Madrid until 2021 that will see him pocket $620,000 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.”
“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.”
Although Nike has refused to confirm the $1.25 billion figure, TMZ reports that it follows similar negotiations to LeBron James’ lifetime contract, worth in excess of $1.25 billion.
The Portuguese star’s new deal at the Bernabeu will keep him at the club until 2021, when he will be 36.
He is expected to pocket $280 million for the duration. It’s no surprise Forbes listed him as the highest-grossing athlete for 2016 as he collected in $88 million.
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 needs six more goals to reach 500 for his career — and admits it is a something he is targeting.
However, he has stressed it’s winning trophies that drives him forward. And one trophy he is nominated for this year is the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo would become only the second player — after Lionel Messi — to win the prize in consecutive years if he claims the honor this year, as expected.
This year, the 31-year-old won the Champions League and Euro 2016, and is favorite to land the award.
He already beat Messi to one piece of silverware this season. On Tuesday, he scooped up the Alfredo di Stefano trophy for being the best player in La Liga last season.