HOLLYWOOD—Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first soccer player in history to become a billionaire during his career. According to Forbes, the Juventus star made $105 million before tax in the last year, making his total worth over the $1 billion mark. Just goes to show you money can’t buy health. He has enough money to buy his own private jet, which normally goes from $2 million to $100 million.

I’m sure he can certainly afford his own jet, since to maintain it costs about a million a year, including hangar and operating costs. He also boasts a number of sponsorships and business ventures. He ranked sixth, according to Forbes in the top celebrities in 2019. He was behind Messi in fourth, Kanye West, Ed Sheeran, Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift who took the top spot. One of his most significant sponsorship deal is with Nike, which was renewed around the same time he extended his last Madrid contract. He has endorsements with Armani, Tag Heuer, Egyptian Steel, Herbalife, Italia Independent, Clear, PokerStars and Castrol just to name a few.

Besides representing brands, Ronaldo has created his own around the CR7 image. In addition, Ronaldo has two hotels-named Pestana CR7- in Portugal, one in the capital Lisbon, and the other one in Funchal, his hometown on the island of Madeira. Pestana CR7- is also scheduled to open in New York in 2020. The 78,069- square-foot, features 177 super charming rooms in Times Square.

The soccer superstar tested positive for COVID-19, the Portuguese federation said on October 13. The federation said Ronaldo was doing well and had no symptoms and in isolation. The published report did not specify when he tested positive. Ronaldo played in the 0-0 draw at France in the Nations League on October 11. Ronaldo was dropped from the country’s Nations league match against Sweden on Wednesday. The federation said Ronaldo’s result prompted another round of tests for the rest of the Portugal squad. It said everyone else in the team tested negative. The squad which played on October 14 won 3-0. He is among many players who have tested positive for COVID-19, including his teammate Rugani and many more.

The 35-year-old Juventus forward will miss matches which include a Serie A clash with Crotone and a Champions League group game against Dynamo Kylv. Now, despite surging cases of COVID-19 across the globe, many soccer players have left their clubs to play international games. Ronaldo has scored three league goals in two games for Juventus so far this season. He also has scored twice as Portugal defeated Sweden 2-0 in the Nations league las month.

With his first goal against Sweden, Ronaldo became the second player ever to reach the milestone of 100 international goals. He is now eight goals behind the all-time international record of 109 set by Iranian Ali Daei. Earlier this year, Ronaldo flew back to Madeira when coronavirus cases started to rise across Europe and soccer was suspended. He helped the Italian team Juventus lift the Serie A title following the league’s resumption.

Ronaldo has added movie star to his resume. One of his films was titled “Ronaldo,” which gives us a little insight into what makes him a phenomenal soccer player, excuse me, a superstar soccer player, hounded by fans and the press. I first met Ronaldo, when I was asked to cover the Portuguese national team back in 2014.

My daughter Kelly Olszuk also appeared in the film as a “photographer,” when she also assisted me in covering the Portuguese National team. The film premiere was held on November 9, 2015 in both in London and New York City. While some people adore him, others dislike him. One thing is for sure, you can’t please everyone. When you achieve his level of greatness, I personally think he doesn’t care.  We wish him a speedy recovery.

Rose’s Scoop: Latino superstar, Nilson Sierra, has recently released his latest single “No lo Besos,” you can stream it on Spotify.