In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo was able to charge 1. 6 million dollars per Instagram post. One click and he could afford a new house, another click… a new bugatti…another click…your soul… you get the picture.
He is able to charge these crazy sums, because he is the most popular person on Instagram. Nobody has more followers than him. Which is ironic, because he does not even own his own image rights.
He sold them to this guy. Welcome to Athletic Interest. In this video we will explore how a poor kid from Portugal became one of the wealthiest athletes alive.
And why selling his image rights was the best deal Ronaldo ever made. Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira, Portugal. His mother had initially intended to abort him, not wanting to raise another child in poverty.
Young Ronaldo shared a small room with his brother and two sisters and claims to never have had any toys growing up. His big break came aged 12, when Sporting signed him for their youth academy. After impressing his coaches, Ronaldo decided to quit school and focus on his football career.
At age 15 disaster struck… Ronaldo was diagnosed with a dangerous heart condition known as tachycardia. This is when your heart beats at a rapid pace even when resting. But Ronaldo wasn’t going to let his heart get in the way of his dreams.
After successful surgery to reduce his BPM, he was immediately back in training and managed to break into the Sporting first team a year later. In 2003, Ronaldo helped Sporting defeat a formidable Manchester United team. Sir Alex Ferguson refused to leave Lisbon without securing the 18-year olds transfer to Manchester.
The move helped turn him into a global superstar. This success also increased his bank balance, thanks to clubs and sponsors giving him millions every year. But these lucrative contracts will eventually end.
The solution for most footballers: Diversification. For example by starting their own businesses. Ronaldo has opened hotels, fitness centres, restaurants, apparel companies and even a chain of hair transplant clinics.
And he’s about to relaunch his CR7 footwear on our video sponsor Shopify. In general, Footballers do not have the best track record with these investments. (headline: footballers have lost over 1 billion from bad investments) Even the mighty Zlatan’s has failed, with his now defunct clothing line losing 18 million in two years!
But Ronaldo’s business ventures are not simply surviving, they are thriving! The Pestana CR7 hotels are expanding across the world and in 2019, the hair transplant clinics generated more than 100 (114) million dollars. How did Ronaldo succeed where others have failed and build an empire on hotels and hair loss?
To truly understand the magic behind the CR7 brand we need to take a look at two very important moments that have shaped his business empire. His winning strategy on social media and his weird deal with the owner of Valencia’s football club. Ronaldo is the most popular human being on instagram.
He currently has over 380 million followers. That’s more than all Premier League clubs combined. Or 76.
000 times Athletic Interest. Please follow us on Instagram… How is this possible? The social media account of a typical footballer is boring.
A photo of them in training, a photo during the game and a sponsored post about a workout recovery device. If we are lucky, we might get one picture of their family dressed up as highlighters. But Ronaldo’s account is different.
His posts can be broken down into four main categories. Football His Body His Lifestyle Sponsored Posts Ronaldo understands that each category attracts a completely different audience. When he posts a photo in a Manchester United shirt, he gets an audience of football fans, but when he goes shirtless and rubs oil all over himself, he gets another, slightly more aroused audience.
By consistently posting in each category, Ronaldo is able to grow his audience from each of these unique angles - attracting football fans and those who enjoy his luxury lifestyle or admire his incredible physique. Football is not even his most popular audience. A topless photo of Ronaldo leaning against a Bugatti received 8 million more likes than an image of him lifting the Serie A trophy with Juventus.
Ronaldo quite literally could not start selling his own topless selfies for money. This might seem a little confusing, let us explain… In 2015, Ronaldo sold his image rights to Peter Lim, the current owner of Valencia’s football club. Image rights can be defined as a person’s likeness, that is their image, name, nickname, voice, signature and any other characteristic that is unique to them.
Whenever a company wishes to use the likeness of a footballer in an advert, They must obtain permission, usually in return for a large fee. Essentially, the player has ownership of their image and has the power to exploit it for money or give someone else permission to do the exploiting. In 2009, Ronaldo handed over a large amount of his personal image rights to Real Madrid.
The idea was that Madrid could use their global brand to exploit his image for money. It was a standard clause that all Madrid players have in their contract. As he gained worldwide fame, Ronaldo started to notice the value of his image rights and, in 2013, he re-negotiated majority control of his image from Real Madrid.
The matter was so important to him that he almost left Madrid. But in the end they found an agreement. He then decided to sell his personal image rights to Peter Lim, a Singaporean businessman.
For six years, Peter Lim’s company Mint Media was given control of Ronaldo’s likeness. The company could decide when to allow his image to be used for adverts, video games and merchandise. So, why would Ronaldo do this?
When the deal was announced, Ronaldo explained: “This is a very strategic move for me and my management team to take the Cristiano Ronaldo brand to the next level, especially in Asia. ” Ronaldo spotted an opportunity to diversify his audience and expand his popularity by entering the Asian market. Handing control of his image rights to Peter Lim makes sense.
The Singaporean is one of the most prominent businessmen in the region. Peter Lim and Ronaldo are looking to capitalize on the worldwide fame of the CR7 brand with the launch of ZUJU GP. The tech company aims to create a football platform that bridges Asia and the west.
While it is not entirely clear what the company will do, the website claims they plan to help fans watch live games virtually, buy merchandise, engage with players and bet. The strategy appears to be working, Ronaldo is consistently ranked as the most popular footballer among Chinese fans. Korean fans even called for Juventus to be sued after Ronaldo failed to make an appearance during a pre-season friendly against a Korean all-star team.
From topless selfies to selling his image rights, each decision was designed to introduce Ronaldo to new audiences. He has reached a level of followers like nobody before him. Who knows how it would have worked out had he not negotiated back his image rights from Real and teamed up with Peter Lim?
Back in 2015, Ronaldo was nowhere near being number 1, but the likes of Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian dominated Instagram. But CR7 overtook them all. With Ronaldo near the end of his football career, the only question that remains is whether he will keep his crown as the most popular person on the planet.
This video is part of our new series about Business Athletes supported by Shopify. In each video, we are going to explore the story of athletes who used their determination and competitive mindset to build something on their own. How they applied their winning strategies from the track, field and pitch to succeed in the world of business.
And create something beyond their sporting career. Shopify is the perfect partner for this! Because all the athletes we talk about are actually using Shopify to build their businesses.
Ronaldo, for example, is relaunching his CR7 footwear. With Shopify, it’s super easy to set up a store and just start selling whatever you’re passionate about. And just like they enable the best athletes in the world to build their brands, they empower small athletes and creators as well.
Actually, Shopify has helped millions of people in 175 countries around the world start a business. It’s never been easier to start from scratch, Shopify gives entrepreneurs the resources that used to be reserved for major corporations. We hope this got you inspired and if it did: make sure to check shopify.
com/athleticinterest or the link in the description for a free 14 day trial of Shopify and build your business today. Thanks a lot for supporting our content!
