CRMONEY: Ronaldo becomes football's first billionaire ahead of Messi

Juventus star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has emerged as the football's first billionaire ahead of Barcelona's Lionel Messi after hitting the $1 billion mark.

His annual earnings were actually down nine per cent, after he took a £3.5m cut on his wages due to coronavirus

The 35-year-old Juventus star is the third athlete after Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather to hit the $1 billion earnings mark while still actively competing, according to Forbes.

Forbes via its Twitter handle said Ronaldo earned $105 million in the past year (2019), making him number 4 on the 2020 Forbes list.

Ronaldo raked in £85million last year from his wages and endorsement deals, pushing him into becoming the billions for career earnings.

His capital for the past year was second only to tennis superstar, Roger Federer, in the athletic world and it made him the number one in the game of football.

Although the former Manchester United star's wages dropped by nine per cent after he took a £3.5m cut on his wages due to coronavirus Ronaldo still made the cut before Messi who is expected to reach the $1bn mark next year.

Ronaldo has earned pocketed over £500m during his career from wages alone and by the end of his current Juventus contract after the 2021-22 season, the wages will surpass £600m.

On endorsements, the ex-Real Madrid star has scooped around £36m-a-year including a lifetime contract with Nike.

Ronaldo's billions did not come from football alone as he also owns a personal company, CR7.

He is also the most-followed sports star in the world on Facebook and Instagram.

Ronaldo rakes in roughly £1m per post on Instagram - more than any other person on the planet.

In fact, the forward makes £14m more per year from social media than he does from his Juventus pay-packet, according to The Sun.