Several media reports have emerged recently, stating that Cristian Ronaldo, one of the best footballers in the world, sold his best player of the year award, Ballon d’Or, to an Israeli billionaire, Idan Ofer, in 2017.
The Portuguese star donated his second Ballon d’Or, which he won in 2013 under Real Madrid, to a charity called ‘Make-a-Wish Foundation,’ which later auctioned it off to the richest Israeli at a whopping price of €600,000.
Cristiano Ronaldo SOLD his 2013 Ballon d'Or trophy to Israel's richest man Idan Ofer.
The £9.1 BILLION businessman paid £600,000 at a London auction to raise money for the charity Make-A-Wish in 2017.#seanknows pic.twitter.com/w8Kmuq8Ocx
— Sean Cardovillis (@seancardo) January 11, 2023
However, some reports suggest that the award that Idan purchased was a replica because the original one is exhibited at Ronaldo’s museum in Madeira, Portugal.
Due to the spread of conflicting reports, it has yet to be confirmed whether Idan purchased the real one or a replica, but it is certain that he bought either one of them at the above-mentioned price.
In 2017, Idan bought 32% of the shares in Atlético Madrid, a Spanish club. Later, he also purchased major stakes in a Portuguese club FC Famalicao. These investments have increased his wealth to $9.8 billion.
seanknows should be changed to seandoesn’tknow. As was accurately stated in the article, Christian Ronaldo did not, (and would never need to) sell any of his awards to anyone. He freely donated it to be auctioned to a highest bidder. He is the wealthiest sports figure in Europe with no need to sell awards.