Bargain hunt: €225,000 per goal
Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 and their initial investment has paid off. He became the most expensive footballer at the time and has returned the favour with goals, trophies and publicity incomes.
As well as proving he is a world-class footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo has shown to be a money-generating machine. Brands across the world fight for his face to market their product but, beyond all that, the cost of his signing can be determined by putting a price on each of his goals for the club.
The newly announced Ballon d'Or winner has scored 418 goals for Real, becoming the club's all-time record scorer. In 2009, the 'Blancos' paid a then-world-record 94 million euros for his transfer from Manchester United.
To put things simply, Real Madrid have paid just over 224,000 euros for Cristiano's signing. This is calculated by dividing the initial fee by the total goals scored by the striker, and factors such as Ronaldo's wages over the years, the titles won by the club thanks to his goals or publicity contracts have not been accounted for. It does, however, give use a vague idea of the level of his performances in the Spanish capital.
It seems like a bargain for the twelve-time European champions, especially when considering the 1.44 million euros they 'have paid' for each of Gareth Bale's goals, six times as much as what each of Ronaldo's goals has cost Madrid.
Even Neymar's numbers at Barcelona were nowhere near the Portuguese superstar's. Almost one million euros (920,000) per goal scored at Barcelona for the Brazilian forward, four times as much as Ronaldo.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is delighted with his striker and is considering further extending his contract at the club. At the Ballon d'Or ceremony, Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed his intention of retiring at the Santiago Bernabeu.