Billionaire Cristiano Ronaldo Says He Will ‘Probably’ Retire From Soccer After This Season

Topline

Portuguese soccer legend and billionaire Cristiano Ronaldo said this would “probably” be his last year playing the sport professionally, hinting he planned to end his 24-year career in which he became the world’s highest paid athlete.

Key Facts

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Ronaldo’s net worth is $1.2 billion. The Portuguese soccer star has been the highest paid athlete in the world for the last four years in a row, and made an estimated $300 million in income last year. He has played the last four seasons at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, which is reportedly paying him an estimated $235 million annually. Earlier this year, he became the first athlete in history to gross $2 billion in career earnings before taxes and agent fees while still playing his sport.

Tangent

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, 39, also hinted at retiring in an emotional post on social media last week after his father’s death. "You asked me to play in this last World Cup so many times and just before it started was when you were at your worst,” he wrote in Spanish. He added he never had the chance to speak to his father about Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the final, and expressed doubt about continuing his career. “All I ever did was play football, and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer,” he wrote, before asking his father, “why couldn’t you hold on just a little longer so we could finish it together?”

Further Reading

This article was originally published on Forbes.com