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Ronaldo buys island wedding gift for agent


In Kenyan sport, squabbles about money are commonplace. Now take a pause and ask yourself, what would you do with Sh330 million?

We are always told to save money and cut spending for a rainy day. Forget that, I’m talking about a whopping Sh330 million. All in your name.

If you are business-minded, you would think high-value stocks, the sky-rocketing real estate market or the current trends in the world of business for you to capitalise on.

If you are a high-end socialite or spendthrift, you would be thinking of a dream holiday in the winsome destinations of the county (yes, building Brand Kenya) or spoiling yourself with the latest Range Rover Sport.

ONE WAY TICKET

With such money, many Kenyans would probably opt for a one way ticket from a stress-free life and jump onto the bandwagon of early retirement.

Well, these were some of the options star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo had at his disposal last weekend and unsurprisingly, opted for the finest.

The Portuguese star known for his flashy cars, impeccable football talent and larger than life living decided to surprise his agent Jorge Mendes with a gift many can only dream of.

The multi-millionaire Real Madrid star gave Mr Mendes a whole island as a wedding present, according to press reports in Spain.

The Greek island has not been named but the price tag could run into millions, say reports.

At least a dozen Greek islands are up for sale and a website, Private Islands Online, shows one selling for €3 million (about Sh330 million).

Spain’s Mundo Deportivo website said Monday Ronaldo knows the islands well from holidaying there.

Mr Mendes, 49, married his partner Sandra in Portugal on Sunday and the three-time World Player of the Year was best man.

Mr Mendes is one of football’s most successful agents and runs a business called Gestifute for developing top football talent.

The celebrity wedding took place in an exclusive residential area of Porto.

CIVIL PARTNERSHIP

Mr Mendes and Ms Sandra Barbosa have three children and have been in a civil partnership since 2005.

Some top footballers from Spain and Portugal were there, along with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was also there.

According to Spain’s ABC news website, Mr Mendes is one of Portugal’s richest men, with a €100 million (about Sh11 billion) fortune. He is one of the so-called “super agents”.

This is, needless to say, as he has orchestrated some of the biggest football deals in history and represents some of the sport’s biggest names.

Among those signed to his Gestifute agency are Jose Mourinho, Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria.

SEVEN BIGGEST DEAL

He brokered four of the seven biggest deals worldwide during the 2014 summer transfer window from which he earned an estimated £30 million.

Ronaldo, a three-time World Player of the Year, has scored 60 or more goals in each of the last four years and averages a goal a game for Real Madrid.

He has a $50+ million a year salary (with bonuses) up to 2018 to show for it.

He is also the world’s most popular athlete, with 102 million Facebook and 35 million Twitter followers.

His commercially good looks have landed him mega sponsorships with Nike and his own underwear and shirt line CR7.