SgtPepper wrote:lambchop wrote:I mean not everyone wants to be a Sky Sports analyst or youth team assistant coach. He basically opted to accumulate a lot of additional wealth. If he invested his cash well/ didn't spend all of it, he could even buy Benfica once he retires.
You're thinking small. Ronaldo had achieved generational wealth by his early 20s because of how well he did as a footballer. This money will roughly double his career earnings, but doesn't improve his options over the rest of his career and life since the starting point was already very high. Working in football mgmt and investing in clubs are not that lucrative options for ex-athletes either. He's also stated ~7 years ago that he probably wants to leave football and go into movies and entertainment after his football career ended. I take that as the truth, because at this late and unstable stage of that career his statements will have to be political. His obsession with brand size metrics like twitter follower count, balon d'or, individual records makes more sense from that lens too. In other words, he's following the same career strategy as Pele, Arnold, and Lebron James. But all those guys managed it a lot better. To poke a few holes, how does going to Saudi Arabia advance his post-career? The viewership in the region is small so his brand will diminish and his contention for the national team will probably end immediately, and unless he has hopes of becoming a future Barcelona coach the more direct access to global Saudi investors and club pipelines won't improve his options. Both the MLS and China would have given him big money (though less immediately), more global brand exposure (meaning more annual and sustainable earnings post-retirement), and exposure to investors who drive the entertainment industry which would be more relevant to his post-career.
The guy can do whatever he wants. Not sure why so many people think they have the right comment, and criticize. Especially considering that he came from more humble backgrounds than most of the people crying.