Neymar, Roberto Carlos, Tevez: Players 'who followed the money' XI

One of the wealthiest sports stars on the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo has more money than most of us would probably know what to do with in five lifetimes.

Per Forbes’ 2022 World’s Highest-Paid Athletes Earnings list, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner earned $115 million (£97.5m) last year, swelling his overall net worth to a colossal $500m (£424m).

Currently, Ronaldo ranks as the third highest-earning sportsman in the world. However, according to reports, the 37-year-old has recently received an offer from an unknown Saudi Arabian club that would put him top of the tree by a considerable margin.

Despite still having a year left to run on his deal at Manchester United, Ronaldo indicated to club chiefs last month that he wanted to leave Old Trafford this summer.

Seemingly with his eyes on joining one of Europe’s elite, Ronaldo has attracted little in the way of serious interest from the world’s top sides.

While the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea may have passed on his services, one Saudi club is believed to be ready to pay Ronaldo £211m over the course of two seasons if he joins their ranks.

If the figures reported by CNN Portugal are accurate, Ronaldo would be in line to pocket an eye-watering £2m every single week, far exceeding the salary of any other sports figure.

The Manchester United man has yet to comment on the dizzying offer. That Ronaldo would ditch European football for the Saudi Professional League seems doubtful given that it would effectively end his career at the game’s top level.

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That said, we are talking crazy money here – and several players down the years have opted for cash over competition.

With that