If on the field Cristiano Ronaldo is still in search of the 1,000-goal mark, as well as reaching his 700th club victory, off the field he continues to make history. According to a study by IPAM (Portuguese Institute of Administration and Marketing), the ‘CR7 brand’ reached a record value of 850 million euros in 2025.
According to the study, this value comes with a combination of 28 variables distributed in six dimensions: income, media, social networks, achievements, social influence and impact. To all this must be added the part of Al-Nassr’s ownership that he has had since the renewal of his contract and whose value is skyrocketing.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is the biggest marketing phenomenon in the history of world football. Talent, a lot of training and repetition, exceptional discipline combined with a unique strategic image positioning,” says Fabio Wolff, managing partner of Wolff Sports.
Cristiano is, off the field, what Pele was on it
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a sporting icon, in fact, we can say that he is a reference in world entertainment. His audience figures are huge, this is due to a combination of factors, and one of them is the fact that he is highly professional in everything he does, which obviously translates into record numbers in every sense,” says Renê Salviano, CEO of Heatmap and sports marketing specialist, who attracts contracts between brands involving sports professionals.
“Cristiano Ronaldo’s influence, built through impressive records, goes beyond four lines, crosses the business world and reaches different corners of the world. The value described is a reflection of a global brand that inspires, models behaviours around the world, has reach and frequency,” explains Ivan Martinho, professor of sports marketing at ESPM.
200 million from Al Nassr and 150 from advertising
The note from the Portuguese Institute of Administration and Marketing reports that, in terms of income, Cristiano Ronaldo currently earns 200 million euros a year at Al Nassr, plus more than 150 million euros in advertising contracts with global brands such as Nike, Tag Heuer and Louis Vuitton. On social media, the Portuguese has become the most followed public person in the world, with more than one billion followers on his platforms.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains on the pitch and relevant in his context, but with a legacy consolidated by the transformations that have taken place in others over the last decade. He changed the way young people around the world prepare to become professional athletes, and this means that he is no longer seen as one of several personal brands of athletes, but as the brand, the only reference among footballers. Cristiano is, off the pitch, what Pele was on it. The one who puts an end to any discussion about comparisons,” says Thiago Freitas, COO of Roc Nation Sports in Brazil, a North American entertainment company that manages the careers of hundreds of athletes.
Another significant fact provided by the study is that CR7 generates an average of 22.3 million newspaper articles a year worldwide, as well as another 187 million annual searches on Google. He is also mentioned in 4,000 books on Amazon and appears in 63,000 scientific articles.
Read the full article here
