Football / Cristiano Ronaldo to earn £480,000 per week at Manchester United: Reports

Sports Desk: Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the finest footballers in the history of the beautiful game. Even at the age of 36, there hasn't been a shortage of clubs who wanted to sign him as the Portuguese expressed his desire to leave Juventus. In the end, Ronaldo managed to seal a move to Manchester United, and it comes at a substantial cost.

For the most part of the Ronaldo transfer-saga, it was Manchester City who were leading the race for the veteran forward's signatures. However, the Cityzens pulled the plug in the end over alleged disagreements over the details involved in the transfer. The situation, hence, paved the way for Manchester United to re-sign the player whom they were associated with for 6 years.

But, Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford came at a decent cost. The Red Devils agreed to pay 15 million Euros to Juventus for the transfer of Ronaldo. The deal also includes 8 million Euros in add-ons.

As far as the salary is concerned, Manchester United reportedly will be paying somewhere around 500,000 GBP per week (figures varying between 480,000 GBP to 510,000 GBP in different reports). The said salary takes Ronaldo's yearly earnings to roughly 25 million GBP per year. Though Manchester United haven't confirmed the details as yet, reports in the European media suggest that Ronaldo will be coming on board in a 2-year deal.

Ronaldo will now be the highest-earning player at Manchester United, trumping David de Gea who reportedly earns £375,000 per week.

In comparison, Ronaldo used to earn about 46 million GBP every year at Juventus. The decision to leave the Italian giants to come to United, hence, comes at a big cost for Ronaldo too. The 36-year-old had one year left in his contract and he could've continued to earn the same money in Turin but decided to almost reduce his salary by half in search of a more competitive club.

As things stand at the moment, Lionel Messi is the top-earning footballer in the world when it comes to club football salaries. The Argentine reportedly fetches £960,000 per week from PSG. Fellow PSG forward Neymar comes in next with a salary of £606,000 per week. 

Atletico Madrid's £575,000 per week and Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann with £575,000 per week are the next on the list. Ronaldo is said to be the 5th highest earner on the list.