Portuguese world star Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed with Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr for 200 million dollars annually, sold one of his 5 Ballon d’Ors. The new owner of the Ballon d’Or award, which Ronaldo sold, surprised everyone.
Portuguese world star Cristiano Ronaldo, who parted ways with the English giant Manchester United before the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, surprised everyone by signing a 2.5-year contract with the Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr for 200 million dollars a year after the end of the tournament. This time, the striker sold one of his 5 Ballon d’Ors. The new owner of the Ballon d’Or award, which Ronaldo sold, surprised everyone.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the Golden Ball (Ballon d’Or) 5 times, which is deemed appropriate for the player of the year every year, sold a part of his award series. The new owner of the Ballon d’Or award, which the 37-year-old world star won in 2013, surprised everyone.
The Portuguese star, who won the Ballon d’Or award in 2008 when he first played for Manchester United, won this award four times when he played for Real Madrid between 2009-2018. The winner of the award, surpassing Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery in 2013, chose to donate the award to charities.
NEW OWNER SURPRISES EVERYONE
The prize was auctioned to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish foundation, and Idan Ofer, the richest person in Israel, bought the prize at the auction. Ofer will pay 600 thousand euros for the award. The figure in question will be transferred to the children’s charity, which fulfills the wishes of the children.
According to Forbes; Ofer, who made the winning bid for Ronaldo’s award, has a net worth of around $9.9 billion. The Israeli businessman has shares in Atletico Madrid and Portuguese club Famalicao.
JORGE MENDES DELIVERED
While Ronaldo himself did not participate in the auction, his famous manager Jorge Mendes assumed the task of delivering the prize to Ofer.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 55 goals for Real Madrid in 2013 when he won the award, but ended the season without a trophy after Bayern Munich won the Champions League and Barcelona won the championship in Spain.
In 2022, Ronaldo’s former teammate Karim Benzama accepted the award. The Portuguese star was able to find himself in the 20th place in the ranking. Ronaldo was out of the top 10 in the Ballon d’Or voting for the first time since 2006. Lionel Messi, who won this award the most with 7 times, was not among the 2002 Ballon d’Or nominees.