Cristiano Ronaldo Becomes First Football Billionaire

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has edged out his career rival Lionel Messi to be ranked as the first player in the history of football to become a billionaire. 

Ronaldo source of income comes from both his football career and endorsement according to Forbes, which by estimation has crossed the billion-dollar mark, trailed by the Argentine ace Messi, as the next football who potentially will reach the milestone by next year. 

The Portuguese player was ranked the highest-paid footballer from the past year having raked in £85m ($105m) in total earnings but is in the second place behind tennis ace Roger Federer who claimed the #1 spot as the world's highest-paid athlete for the 2020 year and the first tennis player ever to make the feat. 

From his football career that has lasted for 17 years, Forbes estimated the striker to have earned a total of $650 million and that is expected to take a leap to $765m by the end of his contract at Juventus in 2022. Bear in mind that the former Manchester United star signed a billion-dollar deal with Nike. 

Tiger Woods (2009) and Floyd Mayweather (2017) were the two athletics that have reached the feat before Ronaldo. Woods made most of his money from his endorsement deal with Nike whilst Mayweather did not only get massive cheques from his fights but also take percentages on streaming/airing of his fights.