Cristiano Ronaldo returns to his old stomping grounds of Spanish football, but in much different capacity this time around.
Cristiano Ronaldo has leaned on his links to Saudi Arabia to purchase a minority stake in Spain’s UD Almería.
The Portuguese footballer, announced today (26 February) that he had bought a 25% stakethrough his CR7 Sports Investments.
“For a long time, my ambition has been to contribute to football beyond the pitch. UD Almería has strong foundations and clear growth potential,” said Ronaldo. “I look forward to working with the leadership team to support the Club’s next phase.”
The club competes in Spain’s Segunda División following a two-year stint in La Liga, which ended in 2023/24; the club currently sits in third place and is vying for a return to the top flight.
UD Almería’s Saudi connection
Although Ronaldo has described the move as a personal dream and the club appears to be on an upward trajectory, it is difficult to ignore that Almería’s strong ties to Saudi Arabia were likely a decisive factor in his decision.
Ronaldo’s connection to the Middle East started when he joined Al‑Nassr in 2023. He has been the face of the league ever since and helped massively with pushing the league commercially and growing its audience around the world.
The country’s relationship with the club can be traced back to 2019, when Turki Al‑Sheikh, a senior Saudi official and a well-known figure in boxing, bought the Spanish side.
During his six-year tenure as the majority owner, the club was heavily invested in, saw an influx of commercial deals and gained promotion to La Liga in 2022. This success is not surprising, with a lot of clubs improving commercially and overall while being owned by Saudi interests.
Newcastle United, for example, gained qualification to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 20 years at the end of the 2022/23 season after the Saudi Public Investment Fund took over in 2021.
However, the owners like to put their own spin on branding; Newcastle saw its third kit turn green and white to represent the country’s flag.
In the case of Almería, Al-Sheikh proposed several changes, from changing its badge, changing the name to UD Almería FC and making a bear its mascot. However, when the club put these changes to the fans they rejected them heavily, protesting online and at the stadium, with none of them ultimately being made.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Turki Al-Sheikh stepped aside and sold the club to a new Saudi ownership group led by businessman Mohamed Al‑Khereiji and the SMC Group.
This new era is focused on promotion back to La Liga, stadium redevelopment and commercial expansion, which the announcement of Ronaldo as a minority owner is likely to help.
Ronaldo’s pull and potential impact
When talking about Ronaldo’s purchase, Al Khereiji said: “We’re very pleased that Cristiano has chosen our club to invest in.
“He is considered the greatest player in history, knows Spanish football extremely well and understands the potential we are building both in the first team and at Academy level.”
While this initial statement touches mostly on improving the football side of the organisation, Ronaldo’s main pull is undoubtedly his commercial potential. Sportico recently named the Portuguese international the highest-paid athlete in the world after making $260m in 2025, a title he has held for three consecutive seasons.
On top of his huge contract at Al-Nassr, he also holds a lifetime contract with Nike, which is reportedly worth $1bn, while additional money comes from Altice, Herbalife, and DAZN for endorsing their brands.
He has also become quite the businessman; last year, he invested in Spain based MMA promotion WOW FC, as well as launched an independent film studio with Hollywood director Matthew Vaughn.
His name will also attract a lot of attention, which is proven by just how much the Saudi Pro League has grown since he joined, with many other big signings following in his footsteps.
A recent example of just how big a celebrity investor can be for a club is Championship side Swansea City, which recently welcomed minority owner Snoop Dogg to a match, with the game selling out.
