Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most globally recognized sports icons in the world, which has helped him amass a gigantic net worth in 2021. Just how gigantic? Pretty dang gigantic.

Cristiano Ronaldo's net worth in 2021 (estimate): $500 million

Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus

Ronaldo's net worth in 2021 is roughly $500 million coming from his playing contracts, endorsements, business deals, and fashion endeavors. His fame has also spilled over to the world of social media. On his Twitter and Instagram alone, Ronaldo has more than 377 million followers.  His incredible internet clout has turned him into one of the most marketable athletes period, which also makes him the owner of one of the biggest bank account totals.

Oh, he's also an amazing footballer.

He started off playing amateur football at the age of 12 for Sporting CP. His transcendent talent started to gradually show which allowed him to make a name for himself in his home country of Portugal.

By the age of 18, he became top English club Manchester United's first ever Portuguese signing in 2003. After scoring over 100 goals in his time with the English Premier League, he switched over to Real Madrid  in 2009 for a then world record transfer fee of $106 million (€94 million).

In Real Madrid, Ronaldo slowly grew his legend, scoring 451 goals in 438 matches. In his nearly 10 years playing for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga, fans had something  special to cheer for in Ronaldo and the Hala Madrid chants thundered throughout the Santiago Bernabau Stadium whenever he played.

Then at the ripe age of 30, Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by the Italian giant Juventus for $113 million (€100 million). The transfer fee was the highest ever paid for a player over 30 by an Italian club in professional football. Within 24 hours of being signed by Juventus, 520,000 of the new Ronaldo jerseys for over $60 million in revenue.

Forbes ranks Ronaldo No. 4 in richest celebrities on the planet behind Kylie Jenner, Kanye West, and tennis superstar Roger Federer. More than 40% of his income comes from his endorsement deals with Nike, Tag Heuer, and Clear Haircare. Ronaldo's exclusivity deal with Nike is reported to be an astonishing $1 billion throughout his lifetime.

Ronaldo's lavish lifestyle is something he rightfully flaunts regularly, because if you got it why not, right? Ronaldo drives a $300,000 Lamborghini Aventador and owns a $6.2 million villa in La Finca, an exclusive community in Madrid. There have also been reports that the star commissioned himself a $30,000 wax statue of his likeness to be displayed at his home. Talk about taking self-love to the next level.

On the business side of things, he has opened a football-themed hotel in his hometown of Madeira, Portugal.  Ronaldo also owns a fashion line, called the Cristiano Ronaldo or the CR7 for short, that he also models for. His other business dealings have not been made public, but he surely has a plethora of ongoing developments making him money on the side.

At 36 years old, Ronaldo might be retiring from the pitch after a handful of years (we'll see if he leaves Juventus and plays elsewhere first), but he'll still be making the headlines long after that. We might even be seeing Ronaldo hit the big screen soon as he has told Goal that he indeed wants to try acting down the line.

When the day comes that Cristiano Ronaldo hangs up his boots, he'll have plenty of money to do whatever he wants in retirement.