Madrid’s golden boy

With the latest deal, Ronaldo becomes the most handsomely remunerated footballer in the world.

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The average erudite reader of The National will take just under 11 seconds to reach the end of this paragraph, in which time the footballer Ronaldo will have earned – or at least been paid – €5.69 (Dh28) under the reported terms of his new contract with Real Madrid.

But if you’re reading this on a computer monitor, the speed will have been about 10 per cent slower, which would have nudged Ronaldo’s bank balance up to €6.26. Except that by the time you’ve read about this exception, the Portuguese forward’s bank will have swelled overall by €12.16.

These are the staggering sums involved in the €17 million (Dh83.5m) annual compensation package reportedly reached so that the 28-year-old will complete his career at Real Madrid, the Spanish club for which he has been playing since transferring from Manchester United in 2009.

That deal four years ago earned Ronaldo the title as the world's most expensive footballer, a sobriquet he lost only recently with the transfer of Welsh winger Gareth Bale, also to Real Madrid. With this new deal, Ronaldo becomes the most handsomely remunerated footballer in the world, knocking arch rival Lionel Messi off the top of the sport's rich list. And just in case you're wondering, he's now richer by €29.22.

Did we also mention that figure is after tax?