Cristiano Ronaldo philanthropy: What charities is the Juventus star involved in for giving and raising money?

As one of the best-paid footballers in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo has done more than his fair share for charity.

The Juventus star earned around €95 million (£84m) in 2019, just behind Lionel Messi, thanks in no small part to his €30m (£26m) salary at the Serie A club.

Ronaldo holds many ambassadorial roles for various charities and Goal has looks at which ones he is involved in.

Which charities does Ronaldo give money to?

One of Ronaldo’s first donations came in 2011 when the Portuguese auctioned off his European Golden Boot for £1.2m, with the money going towards building schools in Gaza.

In December that year, a shirt signed by the forward was sold for €37,000 (£31,000) with the money going to Save the Children and since 2012, the forward has been an ambassador for the charity, which aims to improve the lives of children all over the world.

He is also an ambassador for Unicef and World Vision, and in 2014 Ronaldo split his £450,000 bonus from winning the Champions League among the trio of charities.

As well, the €100,000 (£87,000) prize he got for being named in UEFA’s Team of the Year in 2013 was donated to the Red Cross.

In 2015, Ronaldo was named as the most charitable sports star in the world by dosomething.org, which recognised his ambassadorship, his donations to charities, and varies other causes he has been involved with.

Such examples include a £120,000 donation to the cancer centre that treated his mother in his homeland of Madeira, and paid £55,000 to cover the cost of brain surgery for ten-month-old Erik Ortiz Cruz.

His charitable work has rarely stopped and in 2016 after Real Madrid won the Champions League final – in which Ronaldo scored the winning penalty in the shootout – he donated his €600,000 (£525,000) bonus cheque to good causes.

A year later, Ronaldo auctioned off the Ballon d’Or trophy he won in 2013 in aid of the Make-A-Wish foundation, raising £530,000 for the charity which creates life-changing wishes for minors with a critical illness.

Through the charity, Ronaldo granted the wish of two young Portuguese children by meeting with them in Lisbon after a training session with Portugal.