Cristiano Ronaldo may have agreed to a pay cut at Juventus due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Portugal international is still in line to become the first footballer to reach the $1Billion mark which further underlines his “GOAT” status.
Juventus announced last week that they had reached an agreement with its players to slash their wages over the next four months, and that will allow the club to save cost as the sporting world feels the economic effect of the coronavirus.
The wage cut will see Ronaldo lose about $4.24 million, but the former Real Madrid won’t feel the effect as he is set to become football’s $1 billion man.
According to Forbes, the pay cut in Ronaldo’s wages will not affect his annual earnings too much due to his off-field dealings.
Ronaldo could lose about $20 million as a result of the pay cut, but he is still expected to earn about $46 million in wages this year.
The 35-year-old also has major endorsements with the likes of Nike, CR7 underwear and Cologne. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was also on the cover of FIFA 19.
With earnings of about $45 million from all these endorsements still expected to come in this year, Ronaldo is in line to reach the $1 billion mark.
He was the highest-paid athlete last year, earning a whopping sum of $109 million (both salaries and endorsements).
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Although he won’t earn up to that this year, he could bring in $91 million this year, and that would be enough for him to become the first footballer to crack the $1 billion mark.
Should he achieve this feat, he would become the third active athlete after Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather to accomplish this feat.
It also underlines his status as the greatest of his generation. The Portugal international already strengthened his claim when he became the first person to reach 200m followers on Instagram.
Ronaldo beat America’s A list artists like Dwayne Johnson and Ariana Grande to reach this milestone. With numerous success on the pitch also, Ronaldo has cemented his status as the Greatest Of All Time.
