Real Madrid certainly have a high opinion of Ronaldo. Which begs the question, how much is Cristiano Ronaldo worth to them?
Before we get into that, it's also worth asking why wouldn't Real Madrid assign a high value to Ronaldo? He's either the best or second-best footballer and one of the most marketabe athletes in the world. His jerseys fly off the shelves. He's the player people come to see when the come to see Real Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain know this about Cristiano Ronaldo, and have in the past declared their intentions to buy him from Real Madrid.
Real Madrid, having a very high opinion of Cristiano Ronaldo, have decided that PSG are free to do this. For €1 billion. Yes, that's right, apparently the answer to the question how much is Cristiano Ronaldo worth is €1 billion ($1.1 billion)
Don't get us wrong, Cristiano Ronaldo is valuable, but a billion Euros seems a bit much for a player on the wrong side of 30 who has expressed his desire to play in the United States someday (meaning that even if PSG get him, he'll only have a few world-class years left and certainly won't spend the rest of his career there).
Maybe Real Madrid are just messing with PSG, seeing if they can actually get that price from the Qatari oil sheik-owned club. Or maybe Cristiano Ronaldo is actually that valuable to them.
How much is Cristiano Ronaldo worth in your eyes?
Would you pay one billion Euros for him were you a club manager? We wouldn't, but we are not Qatari oil sheiks. To put things in perspective, here's a list of things you could buy for €1 billion / $1.1 billion (thanks to Forbes for compiling a list):
1. A cliffside house like Jack Dorsey's (Twitter and Square's founder): $10 million
Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey's cliffside house must be awesome. Ronaldo could buy 100 of them. (Photo: @Oh_LA_ | Twitter)
2. A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (most expensive car ever): $35 million
3. Paul Allen's yacht: $160 million
4. Trip around the world in 25 days on a private jet: $5 million
5. Heck, just buy the private jet. Make it a Dassault Falcon 7X: $40 million
Ronaldo is worth 25+ of these jets. (Photo: @Oh_LA_ | Twitter)
6. A private island: $75 million
7. You'll definitely need a soccer club or three. Why not buy the Seattle Sounders ($245 million) and Los Angeles Galaxy ($240 million) and Houston Dynamo ($200 million)?
8. They say philanthropy is good. You can give away the rest: $90 million
So, what is Cristiano Ronaldo worth? It turns out a whole lot.
(H/T The Telegraph)
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
