Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo will rake in millions of dollars per game during the next stop in his lengthy career.
Ronaldo, 37, signed with Saudi Arabian soccer team Al Nassr effective at the start of this year. His contract lasts two seasons and is worth $214 million a year, making him the highest paid athlete in the world, according to Time.
The move follows Ronaldo’s controversial exit from English club Manchester United and hasn’t been without its critics. The Guardian reported that human rights groups worry that the signing follows a pattern of “sportswashing” — using sports to take attention off of human rights abuses — in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s sports ventures aren’t limited to the Ronaldo signing: The nation’s Public Investment Fund is a majority owner of English soccer team Newcastle F.C., and the Saudi funded LIV Golf Tour launched last year.
Similar criticisms about sportswashing came up during the 2022 World Cup, which took place in Qatar, one of Saudi Arabia’s neighbors, according to The New York Times.
Speculation was rife on where Ronaldo would end up next following the November termination of his Manchester United contract. In a career spanning two decades, he’s made stops at Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon, Spanish team Real Madrid, Italian team Juventus and a pair of stints in Manchester.
Now Ronaldo is set to ply his trade on another continent. However, fans of Al Nassr and the star forward will have to wait longer for his Saudi debut than they may hope due to a suspension Ronaldo faces for smashing a fan’s phone while still playing for Manchester United, according to Sports Illustrated.