Cristiano Ronaldo does not really do ordinary presents. When most of us buy a friend a bottle of whisky and perhaps a slightly awkward birthday card, CR7 has reportedly been operating in an entirely different financial postcode. From a Greek island and luxury watches to personalised sporting memorabilia, here are five of the most extraordinary gifts associated with the football superstar.
A Greek Island For Jorge Mendes
When Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s longtime agent and close friend, got married in 2015, Ronaldo reportedly decided that a conventional wedding present was simply not going to cut it. Reports claimed that the footballer gifted Mendes a private island in Greece, with estimates of its value ranging wildly from around €3 million to €50 million. The exact island and purchase details were never publicly established, so this remains one of the more extravagant reported gifts in Ronaldo’s story rather than a definitively documented transaction. Still, there are few better examples of CR7 gift giving than the idea of handing your agent an island and calling the job done.
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A Rolex GMT Master II For Luan Santana
Ronaldo has also been linked to an extravagant watch gift for Brazilian singer Luan Santana, reportedly presenting him with a Rolex GMT Master II. The GMT Master II is hardly a random choice: created for international travellers and originally developed around the needs of pilots, it has become one of Rolex’s most recognisable luxury sports watches. While the precise reference and value of the alleged gift have been inconsistently reported, the gesture fits Ronaldo’s well documented enthusiasm for high end watches. And if you are going to give a friend a watch, you might as well give him one that can tell the time in another country.
A Ballon d’Or Replica For The Make A Wish Foundation
Not every Ronaldo gift has been about private jets, islands and watches. In one particularly meaningful gesture, Ronaldo donated a replica of his Ballon d’Or trophy to the Make A Wish Foundation, turning one of the most significant symbols of his football career into a fundraising opportunity. The original Ballon d’Or is a personal sporting achievement, but the replica became something considerably more useful: a piece of Ronaldo memorabilia capable of generating money for children and families supported by the charity. It is a reminder that occasionally the most valuable thing a superstar can give away is not something he bought, but something that represents what he achieved.
A Mercedes AMG G-63 Brabus For Georgina Rodríguez
Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez have never exactly treated gift giving as a minimalist exercise. For Ronaldo’s 35th birthday in 2020, Rodríguez surprised him with a customised Mercedes Brabus G Class reportedly worth around €300,000. The high performance SUV was equipped with a 900 horsepower V12 according to contemporary reports, making it considerably more interesting than the usual birthday cake and bottle of champagne. It also happened to be rather appropriate for Ronaldo, whose garage has long contained an impressive collection of supercars and luxury SUVs.
The Gift That Came Back Around With A Rolls Royce
There is also the rather amusing case of Georgina returning the favour. At Christmas 2022, Rodríguez surprised Ronaldo with a Rolls-Royce Dawn convertible, reportedly worth more than £250,000. She documented the reveal on social media, showing Ronaldo’s reaction as the enormous bow came off the car. The Dawn joined an already formidable garage and demonstrated that in the Ronaldo household, the phrase “I got you something small” probably requires a different dictionary.
