Benzinga - Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is a name known worldwide thanks to playing for some of the most popular and televised soccer teams. He has played for Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU), Real Madrid and Juventus Football Club SpA (OTC: JVTSF)
Ronaldo was recognized as a soccer star beginning at the age of 10 in 1995. In 2001, Ronaldo signed with Sporting Portugal. In 2003, an 18-year-old Ronaldo was signed by Manchester United for $14 million, a record for a player his age.
Ronaldo was recently let go by Manchester United.
1. Strong Social Media Following: As of November 2022, Ronaldo is the most-followed professional athlete across social media platforms from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META)-owned Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and Instagram and to Twitter. Ronaldo has 502 million followers on Instagram and 105.2 million on Twitter. Ronaldo ranks as the most-followed person on Instagram and as the sixth most-followed person on Twitter.
2. Endorsements: SportsPro ranked Ronaldo as the No. 2 most marketable professional athlete. Ronaldo has deals in place with Nike Inc (NYSE: NYSE:NKE), Unilever (LON:ULVR) N.V. (NYSE: UL) and many more.
An advertisement with Sea Ltd (NYSE: SE)-owned Shopee brand went viral after featuring Ronaldo dancing to “Super Shopping Day,” a song set to the tune of “Baby Shark.” Sports Illustrated called the ad “cringeworthy” at the time.
Ronaldo did turn down doing a reported advertisement with the Saudi Arabian tourism authority that would have paid $7.2 million annually, according to SportsProMedia.
In 2022, Ronaldo is earning $115 million, with $60 million from soccer and $55 million from off-field activities. The annual figure makes Ronaldo the third highest-paid athlete for the year.
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3. International Success: Well-known for stints with some of the most notable teams in the world, Ronaldo is also the face of the Portugal Men’s National Team and has been for many years.
Ronaldo holds records for Portugal for most appearances (191), goals (117), World Cup matches, goals scored in the Euro tournament, Euro tournament appearances and many more.
Ronaldo’s record 191 appearances (as of June 15) rank significantly ahead of Joao Moutinho at second with 146.
With 117 goals, Ronaldo is well ahead of the next leading all-time goal scorer for Portugal with Pauleta at 47. Ronaldo is the all-time leading international goal scorer.
4. Named After A US President: Ronaldo was born in Funchal, Madeira, a small island off the west coast of Portugal. Ronaldo was named after U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who his father considered his favorite actor.
5. Impact on Stocks/Valuation: In 2012, Manchester United went public on the NYSE. By that time, Ronaldo had already left the team for Real Madrid. Ronaldo was one of the most popular players in the world and helped Manchester United win lots of hardware.
Shares of Juventus doubled on the OTC within days of Ronaldo being announced as a new member of the team.
Manchester United shares got a boost with the signing of Ronaldo in 2021.
Photo via Shutterstock.
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