Cristiano Ronaldo buys 25% of the shares of Almeria Club, which plays in the Spanish second division

Just over a decade ago, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t want to think about life after football.

Those close to him warned that he was living on a treadmill, and that when he retired, he might collapse unless he built something to support him. He listened, and the business became a way to continue his relevance, but also to give his family, who had frozen their own ambitions, projects in line with their passions.

The first step was symbolic. In 2016, Ronaldo partnered with a hotel group to open a hotel in Madeira.

Gradually, he not only began to invest his wages, but also began to enjoy the process, the meetings and the strategy.

He still dreamed of making a movie in Hollywood, but he discovered similar satisfaction in building companies — applying the same regimen he had dedicated to his body.

On the pitch, this obsession turned him into the most prolific goalscorer in history after the age of 30. Outside of it, this obsession was a second career.

According to Forbes’ 2025 rankings, Ronaldo has earned approximately £210 million on and off the pitch. Of that, just over £50m came from his non-football business interests, a very diversified portfolio.

He has increasingly channeled his activity through his investment and lifestyle companies, with holdings in a water brand, a healthy living app, and a recovery products company, as well as lingerie, fragrances and shoes.

In addition to ownership stakes, he has high-profile partnerships with leading brands, opened gyms across Portugal and Spain, and launched a collection of watches.

The portfolio continues to expand.

Ronaldo co-founded a group of hair transplant clinics that now operate in Spain, Portugal, Oman and Italy. One of her clients was his mother, Dolores Aveiro.

What started with this first hotel in Funchal evolved into a joint venture launched in December 2015 and initially valued at more than £65 million. There are now properties in Lisbon, Madrid, New York and Marrakesh.

In December 2024, at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo said that if he owned a club, he knew how to fix the structural flaws he saw in some of Europe’s giants.

Now he has acquired a 25% stake in Almeria, which is owned by Al-Kharaiji, which is key to his move to Al-Nassr following his exit from Manchester United.

The treadmill was always going to stop one day, but now he had something to replace it.