THERE’S a very exclusive sporting club which even someone as famous as Cristiano Ronaldo has only just gained entry to… and Lionel Messi remains frozen out of.
You need the profile of a global superstar, a mountain of trophies and enough appeal to have sponsors trampling over themselves to get to you.
Oh, and a billion in the bank.
Juventus icon Ronaldo recently became football’s first billionaire after making £85million last year.
His arch rival Lionel Messi is set to follow suit this year.
But for now, the Barcelona genius is on the outside looking in to sport’s most lucrative club.
Here, SunSport runs down the four names who have had three commas in their bank accounts.
They have all hit the billion dollar earnings mark at some point in their careers, but a couple have seen their profits dip since then.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese sensation, 35, made £85m from wages and endorsement deals in 2019, pushing him into the billions for career earnings.
His annual earnings were actually down nine per cent after he took a £3.5m cut on his wages due to coronavirus.
But it was still enough for Ronaldo to reach the $1bn mark before Messi.
Former Man Utd and Real Madrid star Ronaldo has pocketed over £500m during his career from wages alone.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has stayed at the top of his game for so long due to a legendary work ethic, a strict diet which includes ‘magic’ chicken and a brutal training regime.
He also naps five times a day.
Ronaldo boasts a £16m car collection, which he is reported to have added to earlier this year when he splurged £8.5m on a limited edition Bugatti Centodieci – of which only 10 have been made.
He also dabbles in property.
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Reports last month claimed the dad of four is building a £7m mansion in Quinta da Marinha on the so-called Portuguese Riviera, for when he retires.
This came after purchasing the most expensive flat ever sold in Lisbon last year – a £6.5 million property that includes a gym and indoor swimming pool.
Ronaldo, who is the most followed person on Instagram with 223 million, is sponsored by Nike, Herbalife, DAZN and Unilever among others.
Tiger Woods
Before his sex scandal downfall and years in the wilderness due to injury, surgeries and an unforgettable mugshot for driving under the influence, Woods was a sponsor’s dream.
He and Federer remain the only active athletes to ever break the $100m (£80m) mark for earnings from sponsorships in a single year.
Woods became a billionaire in 2009, according to Forbes – just before his world came crashing down.
The golfer, 44, lost a bunch of big-time backers including the likes of Gillette and American Express after he crashed his car into a three on Thanksgiving in 2009.
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Dozens of women came forward claiming to have had relations with the 15-time major champ, leading to an £80m divorce from ex-wife Elin Nordegren.
And many thought his career was over after he was found slumped at the wheel of his Mercedes in 2017.
But he has bounced back to the top of the game after having career-saving spinal fusion surgery and won The Masters last year.
Notoriously frugal – friends say he is an awful tipper – Woods has splashed cash on his epic £41m Florida mansion.
The dad of two also has a £15m yacht called Privacy and some of his big sponsors include Nike, Monster Energy and Bridgestone.
His current net worth is around £630m.
Floyd Mayweather
No one shows off their vast wealth quite like the 50-0 retired king, who also revealed a caring side when he recently offered to pay George Floyd’s funeral costs.
Money has retired from the ring but his last big bout – against Conor McGregor in August 2017 – earned him an eye-watering $275m (£220m) and pushed him into billionaire status.
He was the world’s highest earning celebrity in 2018 as well as the richest sports star, according to Forbes.
Mayweather has a stunning £8m Las Vegas mansion which features a walk-in wardrobe for his shoes.
He also owns a fleet of supercars worth £20m which include a number of Rolls-Royces worth over £3m and four Bugatti Veyron supercars that set him back £1.7m each.
All of his black cars are kept in Las Vegas and his white ones are parked up in Los Angeles at his £19m mansion, which boasts 10 bathrooms, a private cinema room for 20 people and master bedroom bigger than most London flats.
He can get between both homes in his £50m private jet.
Mayweather’s wealth is the subject of much controversy, though, and he has been forced to deny claims he is broke.
The former boxer says he makes seven figures a month from “smart investments”.
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The source of Mayweather’s wealth can be tracked down to when he broke with legendary promoter Bob Arum.
Arum promoted Mayweather under his Pretty Boy nickname during the first decade of his professional career after the 1996 Olympics.
But in 2006, Mayweather went into Arum’s office, wrote the $750,000 cheque (£600,000) that released him from his contract and turned himself into ‘Money’ Mayweather.
He became a money-making machine through appearances at Wrestlemania and Dancing with the Stars, box-office smashes such as his 2015 fight against Manny Pacquiao – the richest fight ever – and his social media profiles.
His current net worth is around £400m.
Michael Jordan
Sport’s first billionaire, MJ has become a financial behemoth after retirement due to his line of trainers.
The former Chicago Bulls star’s profile has been boosted again thanks to Netflix’s 10-episode show The Last Dance.
Last year he still made the equivalent of £27,780 an hour – despite retiring for good in 2013.
Jordan’s cut of the £2.5b his trainers make is around £120m, that’s four times as much as current NBA icon LeBron James earns with his Nike sponsorship deal.
But other corporate giants were desperate for a slice of MJ – who somehow cannot sell his amazing £12m mansion in Illinois – complete with cigar lounge.
Massive companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Chevrolet – who have pride of place on Man Utd’s shirts – wrote out colossal cheques for him to promote their brand.
Jordan, now 57, is said to be worth £1.66b.
No wonder he spends most of his time smoking cigars, playing golf and enjoying his own tequila, which can sell for £1,400 a bottle.
