Which team has enough money to sign Ronaldo?

Ronaldo's income is enough to make many teams think twice.

MLS has emerged as an attractive option, especially given the prospect of Ronaldo reuniting with Lionel Messi in the US, which could generate massive media attention. However, FotMob assesses that the financial aspects make this deal almost impossible at the moment.

Ronaldo is receiving a salary considered unprecedented in football history. At Al Nassr, he earns approximately $4.73 million per week, equivalent to nearly $246 million per year, not including bonuses reportedly worth around $50 million per year. This figure far exceeds the financial capacity of any MLS club.

Even Lionel Messi, the highest-paid player in MLS, only earns around $20.4 million per year. Other stars in the league, such as Son Heung-min of LAFC and Miguel Almiron of Atlanta United, earn approximately $11.1 million and $7.9 million per year, respectively. This vast disparity makes it almost impossible for MLS to recruit Ronaldo unless he accepts a significant pay cut.

It's not just MLS; top European teams are facing similar difficulties. Ronaldo remains the highest-paid player in world football. His salary far surpasses that of top stars playing in Europe such as Erling Haaland of Manchester City, who is estimated to earn around $718,000 per week, or Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid ( $710,000 per week).

Ronaldo would have to take a significant pay cut if he moved to a new team.

In that context, Ronaldo's potential departure from Saudi Arabia depends almost entirely on whether he is willing to sacrifice his enormous income. If this happens, many teams in MLS or Europe will undoubtedly be interested in acquiring one of the greatest players in football history.

Recently, European media have repeatedly mentioned Manchester United, Ronaldo's former club, as an ideal destination for CR7. However, INEOS is currently tightly controlling finances at Old Trafford. Spending a large sum of money just to pay the salary of a 41-year-old player like Ronaldo is considered unthinkable.

Sporting Lisbon is also an option for Ronaldo, as it would allow him to be closer to his family. However, he would certainly have to sacrifice almost all of his income at Al Nassr if he wanted to return to his homeland to play. Sporting has never been considered a team with a large budget and a habit of buying star players.

Currently, Ronaldo's future remains a big question mark, but whenever his name appears on the transfer market, the football world is immediately drawn into its familiar whirlwind of attention.

Al Nassr fans pay tribute to Ronaldo. In the early hours of February 7th, Al Nassr fans collectively expressed their support for Cristiano Ronaldo in their 2-0 victory against Al Ittihad in Round 21 of the Saudi Pro League 2025/26.