Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Football
Luke Davies
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely considered to be the two greatest footballers of all time – but how much does it cost to hire them?
Ronaldo, 40, and Messi, 37, boast a combined total of 13 Ballon d’Or crowns from their illustrious careers.
As a result of their talents, they have earned huge sums of money from playing football and commercial endorsements.
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Ronaldo reportedly earns £3.18m per week at Al Nassr, with his net worth thought to be more than £200m.
As for Messi, he reportedly earns a $12m base salary and $20.4m in total compensation from MLS side Inter Miami.
Aside from their efforts on the pitch, the pair have earned huge amounts from commercial deals and businesses with Ronaldo owning clothing brand ‘CR7’ and Messi owning multiple properties.
And if this wasn’t enough, they can also be hired at a huge cost.
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It was previously reported that Ronaldo was paid to promote the Sportlobster app around a decade ago.
Harry Hugo, who was head of social, revealed how much the company forked out for Ronaldo to post 30-40 times.
“We were the first guys to be a digital-only deal with Cristiano Ronaldo for a quarter of a million pounds," Hugo told Rising Ballers.
"That was for the year, for a third of his social media output.
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"So, we're talking like nearly 30-40 posts that are dedicated to Sport Lobster, dedicated with a link to download and that cost a quarter of a million quid.
"It costs a million quid for him to turn up to a TV photoshoot and now it costs a million quid for him to post on anything. So, it was an unbelievable deal.
"It got to a point where every time he posted it would generate us like two thousand downloads. He had a hundred million followers."
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It must be considered that it is probable that the rate has since increased.
In addition, the book Football Leaks by Der Spiegel journalists Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger detailed how Ronaldo and his representatives charged a Saudi telecoms business £920,000 for four and a half hours of his time.
So, if you can’t afford to hire Ronaldo, could you buy some of Messi’s time?
Well, possibly. According to Seattle Talent Buying, the Argentinian can be hired for private or ticketed events at a minimum cost of $150,000 and a maximum of $200,000 but the website states that some celebrities will require private security and food/drink.