Cristiano Ronaldo rises into elite circles. The situation in the morning

Good morning, dear readers,

Cristiano Ronaldo is undisputedly the best footballer of his generation alongside Lionel Messi, has won countless titles and scored even more goals. Fans have been arguing about which of the two is better for decades, and I won’t get involved in the debate here. Off the pitch, the 40-year-old is now celebrating his next success: He is the first active footballer to be a dollar billionaire.

Ronaldo is reported for the first time with a net worth of around 1.4 billion dollars (1.2 billion euros). Bloomberg Billionaires Index and thus rises to an illustrious circle. Only a few athletes before him have broken the billion dollar mark, including basketball icons Michael Jordan and LeBron James, tennis star Roger Federer and golfer Tiger Woods.

Ronaldo’s wealth has increased suddenly, especially in the last two years. According to Bloomberg, from the start of his career in 2002 to 2023, he has accumulated a fortune of $550 million (around €473 million) through his salaries, sponsorship deals and investments.

With his move to Saudi Arabia The Portuguese superstar fell out of focus somewhat, but that was compensated for by an almost absurd salary. His new club Al-Nassr charges Ronaldo’s services around 200 million euros annually. To think about it: That corresponds to around 22,800 euros for every hour of your life. In June, the 40-year-old extended his contract for another two years at the same salary.

When he moved in 2023, Ronaldo was seen as a driving force for Saudi Arabia and a league that was irrelevant in terms of sport at the time. Numerous other football stars followed the call of money, including: Karim BenzemaDarwin Nuñez or the ex-Stuttgart Enzo Millot. In return, Saudi Arabia benefits from the media reach. 665 million people follow Ronaldo alone on Instagram, no one has more followers. The Portuguese is intended to promote the Gulf state as a diverse travel destination – by 2030, 150 million tourists should be attracted to the country every year. Apparently with success: since 2018 the number of tourists has doubled to 116 million.

Messi, Ronaldo’s lifelong sporting rival, has now clearly left the Portuguese behind. The two superstars received similar salaries until 2023. However, the Argentine turned down a move to the Gulf state – although the club Al-Hilal said they made him an offer of $1.4 billion – and went to North America. At Inter Miami, Messi is closer to home and makes living in Florida worth $20 million a year. After the end of his career, things could also go uphill for Messi – according to reports, he will then become a shareholder in Inter Miami. But Ronaldo has already caught up there too. According to media reports, with his contract extension in June he was also guaranteed 15 percent of the shares in Al-Nassr FC.

It is the news of the night: two years after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, peace seems closer than ever. Last night, representatives of Israel and Hamas agreed on the first points in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan. Hamas promised to release the 20 remaining hostages within 72 hours of signing the agreement. In return, 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel are to be released. The Israeli army is also withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza war was triggered by the attack on Israel by Hamas and other Islamist terrorist groups on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel, in turn, responded with attacks. Since then, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.

It is just a beginning on the long road to peace, but it is promising. And – it has to be said – the US government around Donald Trump deserves a large share in this agreement. Without the intervention from the USA, this bloody war would probably have continued for a long time.

Hardly anything is as much a source of contention for couples as money. It is a regular topic in about every third relationship. And almost every fourth partnership fails because of this. Money is not always the actual trigger for a separation, but it can spark everyday arguments and thus relationship frustration.

Precisely because so many couples argue about money, they don’t even talk about it. It’s good for relationships to talk about money. Couples move closer together. A guide – from the first date to the will – on how things can go better in the relationship.

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I wish you a good start to the day!