Featured Image Credit: Kings League
Topics: Ronaldinho, Gerard Pique, Barcelona, Brazil
Josh Lawless
Ronaldinho's low salary in Gerard Pique's Kings League has been revealed and fans have been left stunned by what he is being paid.
Having played in a slew of charity games, the Barcelona and Brazil legend came out of retirement to play in the seven-a-side competition, making his debut for Porcinos FC - the team owned by Twitch streamer and Pique's business partner Ibai Llanos.
Ronaldinho's arrival was announced in a social media cafe skit and he was drafted in as a 12th man for Porcinos in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Pio FC.
Not wanting to take one himself when he learned they were MLS, hockey style penalties, Ronaldinho's team lost 3-1 on spot-kicks.
A peak audience of 2.1 million viewers tuned in on Twitch to see 'R10' roll back the years but it turns out that Ronaldinho is not being paid megabucks.
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As per Business Insider, via AS, Ronaldinho only earns €70 (£61.50) as a base salary whenever he plays in the tournament. The outlet were quick to emphasise that there was no typo made and no zeros were omitted.
However, it is then noted that part of the arrangement is that Pique's company, Kosmos, pay Ronaldinho a fee between €10,000 and €15,000 for his participation - which seems fair given the increase in viewers he brings as one of the biggest names in football.
Pique has also said that the 2005 Ballon d'Or winner will play a key role in the expansion of the Kings League, as he and Neymar will be presidents of teams in the Brazilian version.
The final four of the inaugural Kings League was staged at Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium, with Sunday's event a complete sell-out.
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Barca will take half of the profits for hosting after retired defender Pique struck a deal with president Joan Laporta.