After nine years at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving the global soccer giant for the Italian Serie A club Juventus. The deal is worth at least $340 million over four years, according to Forbes sources.
The tally includes a $140 million (€120 million) transfer fee owed to Real and a net annual salary for Ronaldo of roughly $35 million (€30 million). The latter does not include any known bonus or incentive, per sources.
Based on Italy's top tax rate, Ronaldo's new gross salary equates to $64 million, a pay cut from the estimated minimum $66 million he would have made this upcoming season in salary and bonus if he stayed at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. This lags behind the gross pay of Lionel Messi ($84 million) and Neymar ($73 million), both of whom received new deals last year from their respective clubs, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
No soccer player is close to Ronaldo in terms of endorsement earnings, though. With the $47 million he earns off the pitch from endorsements, appearances and licensing, he is still on track to bank at least $97.5 million through the upcoming season, enough to keep him the second-highest-paid soccer player in the world.
The move marks the end of a remarkable tenure for Ronaldo at the Bernabéu, where the 33-year old Portuguese forward became the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, won four of his five Ballon d’Or awards and led Real Madrid to four Champions League titles.
