Paid Like a King to Becoming the Owner of Al Nassr, All About Cristiano Ronaldo's New Contract

While diving, drink water. This proverb aptly describes the new contract of Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo with Al Nassr, announced on Thursday (26/6/2025). With the Saudi Arabian club, Ronaldo demonstrates that he still possesses significant commitment and ambition as a player. On the other hand, he is needed like a king by the club synonymous with the color yellow.

Ronaldo is the first footballer to receive a salary reaching 200 million euros, or approximately IDR 3.79 trillion per year. No other player has been valued as highly as the player nicknamed "CR7."

By merely comparing salaries, Ronaldo earns four times the annual payment of his closest competitors in the Saudi League. They are Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahly) and Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad). Both players receive a salary of around 50 million euros (IDR 1.13 trillion) per year.

If combined with all the appearance bonuses, team performance bonuses, and other commercial value clauses, Mahrez and Benzema's accumulated income is also not close to Ronaldo's salary. According to Capology, Mahrez and Benzema can collect a maximum annual salary of around 150 million (Rp 2.84 trillion).

Ronaldo's contract value, when combining his salary and various bonuses, could exceed more than half a billion euros, equivalent to 500 million euros (Rp 9.5 trillion). If we refer to the duration of his contract for two seasons until the end of the 2026-2027 competition period, then an amount of one billion euros could potentially come from Ronaldo's pocket from Al Nassr.

According to Marca, the figure is calculated from 70 million euros (Rp 1.32 trillion) for profit sharing from the new Al Nassr sponsorship contract starting in the 2025-2026 season. Ronaldo also received a bonus of 94,000 euros (Rp 1.78 billion) per goal scored, then 47,000 euros (Rp 891 million) for each assist he produced starting next season. The nominal goal and assist bonuses will increase by 20 percent if Ronaldo continues his service at Al Nassr in 2026-2027.

The 40-year-old player is also awaiting bonuses amounting to millions of euros, which consist of 5 million euros (Rp 94.9 billion) for becoming the top scorer of the Saudi League, 8 million euros (Rp 151.8 billion) for helping Al Nassr qualify for the Asian Champions League and win that Asian competition, as well as 10 million euros (Rp 189.7 billion) if he leads Al Nassr to victory in the Saudi League.

With an annual salary and a bombastic bonus, Al Nassr pays Ronaldo like a king leading a nation. Ronaldo's annual salary could place him as the fourth highest-paid leader in the world.

According to Zippia, Ronaldo's salary is only second to the annual salary received by Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz who receives around 8.2 billion euros, then the President of the United Arab Emirates Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan who receives a salary of around 4 billion euros, and the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah who pockets 1.6 billion euros.

On the other hand, Ronaldo receives a higher payment compared to six other monarch leaders, such as Emir of Kuwait Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber, King of England Charles III, King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn, King of Eswatini Mswati II, Prince of Monaco Albert II, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and King of Norway Harald V.

Not only his salary, Ronaldo is treated like a king by Al Nassr with the presence of supporting facilities. According to reports from several European media outlets, Al Nassr provided Ronaldo with a private jet worth 4.5 million euros (approximately Rp 85.4 billion), with all the needs of the jet covered by the club.

In order to support the superstar's performance on the field and his life with his family in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, Al Nassr provides 16 certified professionals for Ronaldo. The 16 people consist of three drivers, four housemaids, two chefs, three gardeners, and four security guards.

With all those facilities, Ronaldo lives in Saudi Arabia like a king in a monarchy. Saudi Arabia has King Salman as the leader of the state and government. They also crown Ronaldo as the king of football.

In the history of professional football in the modern era, Ronaldo is the second player to receive a contract with the guarantee of holding shares in a club in the league that has become his new destination. Before Ronaldo, David Beckham was granted that privilege when he signed a contract with LA Galaxy in 2007.

Lionel Messi has become the third footballer to receive a club ownership clause after agreeing to join Inter Miami two years ago. However, Ronaldo's situation differs from that of Beckham and Messi in MLS (Major League Soccer).

If Beckham is allowed to establish a new franchise club in MLS, the same goes for Messi, while Ronaldo is instead given shares in Al Nassr, his own club. Without hesitation, Al Nassr granted Ronaldo a 15 percent share of ownership derived from the 65 percent shares owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Ronaldo's shares in Al Nassr are valued at approximately 30 million euros.

With his status as the owner of Al Nassr, Sky Sports said Ronaldo has a big influence on the club's transfer policy starting in the 2025-2026 season. Al Nassr Sporting Director Fernando Hierro also needs to communicate with Ronaldo to recruit new coaches and targeted players to strengthen the team's quality starting next season.

“The ambition I have has no finish line,” Ronaldo told Record about his new contract at Al Nassr.

"This is about consistency, commitment, and collective work that will make us better. It is my duty to be here (Al Nassr). We are starting a new chapter for this team," he continued.

The Saudi League (SPL) also celebrated Ronaldo's new contract. "The Saudi League will enjoy Cristiano Ronaldo's action for the next two years after Thursday's confirmation that the Al Nassr captain has extended his contract," wrote the official SPL release received by Kompas, Friday WIB.

“And, with the GOAT in the mix, sit back and prepare yourself for more great moments,” the SPL statement concluded.

Ronaldo is indeed a magnet for the Saudi League. A total of 74 goals from 77 appearances underscores his influence in that oil-rich country. In total, he has scored 93 goals from 105 official matches with Al Nassr and has contributed to winning the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup.

Ronaldo's decision to remain at Al Nassr until June 2027 is not merely to pursue major trophies for Al Nassr, but also to open up the opportunity to play for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup.

In addition, with an average of scoring more than 30 goals per season with Al Nassr since the 2023-2024 edition, Ronaldo has opened the opportunity to become the first professional player to score 1,000 goals in official matches. Ronaldo has already scored 956 goals in his professional career, which began in 2002-2003.

Regardless of the new contract worth a fantastic sum, football enthusiasts can still enjoy Ronaldo's ambitious performance on the green field. For young footballers and aspiring players, they still have the opportunity to witness firsthand the best role model who can maintain high-level performance even into his forties.