Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most marketable sports stars in the world, and thus is a brand ambassador for many of the globe's biggest brands.
This includes the promotion of certain automobile companies, who give the Real Madrid forward free cars in order to help advertise their company. Aside from that, Ronaldo is hugely interested in cars, and has an extensive collection of modern sportscars and classic vehicles.
Goal reveals the contents of Ronaldo's garage.
What cars does Ronaldo own?
Even before signing with Manchester United in 2003 from Sporting CP, Ronaldo has had a fondness for expensive toys, including sportscars. With his United team-mates driving many top cars, it did not take long for Ronaldo to catch up and compete in the carpark at the club's training centre in Carrington.
One of the early cars he purchased at United was a BMW M6, which retailed at £86,000 in 2006 for the basic model - but probably included many optional extras for Ronaldo. He added multiple Audis and Bentleys in the following years, as well as a pair of Porsches.
At Real Madrid, Ronaldo expanded his collection further, adding a Ferrari 599 GTO, Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 and other supercars to his personal garage. The Financial Express valued Ronaldo's garage at just under £6 million in 2017.
Here is a list of some of the cars that Ronaldo has bought:
| Car | Year Purchased |
|---|---|
| Aston Martin DB9 | 2009 |
| Audi Q7 | 2008 |
| Audi R8 | 2009 |
| Audi RS6 | 2009 |
| Audi RS7 | 2017 |
| Bentley Continental GTC | 2007 |
| Bentley GT Speed | 2009 |
| BMW M6 | 2006 |
| Bugatti Chiron | 2017 |
| Bugatti Veyron | 2017 |
| Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano | 2009 |
| Ferrari 599 GTO | 2011 |
| Ferrari F12 TDF | 2017 |
| Ferrari F430 | 2008 |
| Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 | 2012 |
| Maserati GranCabrio | 2011 |
| Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI | 2013 |
| Mercedes-Benz GLE 63 | 2016 |
| Porsche 911 Carrera 2S Cabriolet | 2009 |
| Porsche Cayenne | 2007 |
| Porsche Cayenne Turbo | 2010 |
| Rolls-Royce Phantom | 2014 |
How many crashes has Ronaldo had?
In 2009, Ronaldo was involved in a high-speed crash while driving his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano just days before Manchester United were due to play Chelsea. Luckily for the Portugal international, he escaped unhurt, but his 205mph top speed car was wrecked in the single-vehicle accident.
Team-mate Fabio da Silva revealed the following year that the crash happened the first time Ronaldo was behind the wheel of his new £200,000 car. He had registered the car just two days before hitting the wall of a tunnel near Manchester Airport. The car was later sold online for €30,000.
"Cristiano had mentioned that he was going to take the car out of the garage, as he had bought it a few days ago, but had not driven it," Fabio told the Manchester Evening News. "That is when the accident happened. Everything is all right, but we were scared."
For a promotional video with Nike in 2016, Ronaldo was involved in an amusing body-swap mini-movie where he switched lives with a teenager from Halifax. In the video, the kid in Ronaldo's body crashes his Pagani Huayra at his home. Ronaldo performed all his own stunts for the scene, which took just three takes.
What is Ronaldo's favourite car?
Ronaldo has never publicly said which of his many cars is his favourite, but from his recent Instagram posts which include multiple images and videos of them, he does have a certain fondness for his custom-made CR7 Bugatti Chiron.
The 261mph top-speed car is marketed as a hypercar rather than a supercar, and costs over £3.6m to purchase new. It is so exclusive that only 500 models will ever be built, with Ronaldo the lucky owner of his own version featuring his trademark "CR7" insignia.
Having the money to buy a Chiron is not enough to get you one, as Bugatti form a relationship with potential customers before deciding if the purchaser is suitable. "We know our customers are, on average, car collectors," Stefan Brungs, Bugatti board member told Top Gear magazine.
"They have more than forty cars in their collection, and more than two aeroplanes. They have several yachts, and they have art collections and real estate around the world. So it’s quite easy to see if the customer is prequalified."
A £200,000 deposit is taken once the sale is agreed, and then each Chiron is built by hand to meet the customer's specifications. This is how Ronaldo was able to get his own branding on the car, while one Chiron buyer in China had his car upholstered with alligator skin.
If Ronaldo has a problem with his car, he can just call Bugatti, and they will fly a mechanic to his home to fix his Chiron. They will also arrange for a temporary replacement while his car is being fixed.