Cristiano Ronaldo will pocket a whopping £177 million ($212 million) million-a-year salary at Al Nassr, which has made him the highest-paid athlete ever in history.

The 37-year-old’s move to the Saudi Arabian side was confirmed last Friday with the Portuguese superstar penning a deal until 2025.

Commenting on his switch, the ex-Manchester United forward said, “I’m thrilled for a new experience in a different league and a different country, the vision that Al Nassr has is very inspiring. I’m very excited to join my teammates, and to help the team to achieve more success.”

And it should come as no surprise at to why Ronaldo is so buzzing about his transfer after penning a lucrative two-and-a-half-year contract. Incredibly, Ronaldo will take home £177 million-a-year, which includes his base football salary [£62 million ($74 million)-per-year] along with commercial bonuses.

That works out to an astonishing £14.75 million ($17.6 million) every month, with Ronaldo to earn £3.4 ($4 million) million-a-week. To break that down even further, the Real Madrid legend will be pocketing £485,000 or $ 578,482-a-day, £20,000 ($23,854)-per-hour and £337 ($400) every minute.

To put his astronomical salary into perspective, Forbes had named his long-time rival Lionel Messi as the highest-paid sportsperson in 2022. They stated that the Paris Saint-Germain forward earned £107 million ($127 million) from his base football salary and commercial bonuses – £70 million $84 million) less than Ronaldo’s new deal.

His Les Parisiens teammate Neymar took home £78.5 ($04 million) million, with Mohamed Salah the next best-paid footballer with £37 million ($44 million). PSG striker Mbappe follows the Liverpool maestro where he earned £35.5 million ($42.3 million) in 2022.

Ronaldo also earns more than boxing world champions Canelo [£74 million or $88.2 million] and Tyson Fury [£51 million – $60.8 million] combined. Other notable athletes Ronaldo will earn more than include NBA stars LeBron James [£100 million – $119.2 million], Steph Curry [£76.7 million – $91.6 million] and Kevin Durant [£76.1 million – $90 million].

Speaking on his decision to join Al Nassr, Ronaldo added, “The vision with which Al Nassr operates is very inspiring and I am excited to join my teammates. Let’s help the team together to achieve more successes.”

• A TalkSport report