Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Next Career Move—by Becoming Minority Owner in Club

One of the best players ever is using his vast wealth to keep him in soccer.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still playing for now. | Mohammed Saad/Anadolu/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo is moving down the path of club ownership after becoming a minority owner of UD Almería in Spain’s La Liga 2.

Ronaldo’s playing career continues at Al Nassr, where a recent fallout over the direction of the club appears to have been swept under the rug in pursuit of a Saudi Pro League title. The 41-year-old’s four goals in his three appearances since a brief strike ended has the team first in the standings.

But while Ronaldo has defied natural ageing like very few other athletes can, a business deal to buy a 25% stake in Almería is starting to point at what he might do next. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has shown very little interest in becoming a manager, so if he is to stay in soccer at all after retiring as a player, owning a club is the most likely way he will do it.

In fact, speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in December 2024, he said as much: “Becoming a head coach or manager? No … but maybe I could become a club owner.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo: Billionaire

In 2025, Bloomberg labeled Ronaldo a billionaire, making him the first soccer player to accumulate 10-figure wealth. Between career earnings, investments and endorsements, Ronaldo’s net worth measured by the Bloomberg Billionaire Index was recorded as $1.4 billion.

Although already insanely rich from a career that saw him become the best player in the world with Manchester United by 2008, before nine history-defining years at Real Madrid and a well-paid spell at Juventus, his wealth has accelerated massively since taking his career to Saudi Arabia at the start of 2023. There, his world-leading salary reaches just over $236 million every year.

The figure he paid to invest in Almería has not been disclosed.

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CR7 Uses Saudi Arabia Contacts to Facilitate Buy-in

Saudi Arabia has been home for more than three years. | Fayez NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

Ronaldo’s way in looks to have been through his Saudi contacts. Almería was formerly owned by senior government minister and boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh from 2019–2025, taken over last year by a Saudi-backed consortium fronted by Mohammed Al Khereiji.

“It has been a longtime ambition of mine to contribute to football, beyond the pitch,” Ronaldo said. “UD Almería is a Spanish club with strong foundations and clear potential for growth. I look forward to working alongside the leadership team to support the club’s next phase of growth.”

Al Khereiji stated: “We are very pleased that Cristiano has chosen our club to invest in. He is regarded as the greatest to ever play the game, he knows the Spanish leagues very well and he understands the potential of what we are building here both in terms of the team and the academy.”

As a club, Almería is bizarrely younger than Ronaldo, formed in 1989. Starting in Spain’s fifth tier, they reached the old equivalent of La Liga 2 within six years and debuted in La Liga in 2007. Almería have been up and down between Spain’s top two leagues ever since, finishing as high as eighth in that maiden 2007–08 campaign, and were last in La Liga in 2023–24.

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Cristiano Ronaldo Playing Record vs. Almería

As a player, Ronaldo has faced Almería seven times during his career, all 2009–2015 in La Liga.

• Matches: 7
• Wins: 6
• Draws: 1
• Losses: 0
• Goals: 7
• Assists: 5

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