Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended from Portugal's national team for 30 days and fined £215 after leaving the squad without notice, according to দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা. The 41-year-old forward's punishment carries sporting consequences, but the paper reports that the financial cost is negligible for him.
Using estimates of his annual earnings, দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা calculated that Ronaldo would need roughly half a minute to make back the fine amount. That is about as long as it takes to watch a short clip on social media, the report noted.
Why it matters
The story has circulated widely in Bangladeshi media, with প্রথম আলো, bdnews24.com, The Daily Ittefaq and The Daily Campus among the outlets covering the ban and fine. The comparison between the penalty and Ronaldo's income has drawn attention because it illustrates the scale of the earnings gap between football's biggest stars and ordinary supporters.
The figures are arithmetic projections, not records of money actually arriving in his account. দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা said the calculation assumes his annual income is spread evenly across the year and is based on estimates made after taxes and agent fees.
Where the numbers come from
According to দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা, citing the US magazine Forbes, Ronaldo is projected to earn about $300 million in the 2026-27 season, keeping him the highest-paid footballer for a fourth consecutive season. About $250 million of that is expected from his current contract with the Saudi club Al Nassr, with the remaining $50 million coming from brand sponsorships and other commercial rights.
Converted at a rate of 123.72 taka to the dollar, the paper put his annual income at roughly 3,711.6 crore taka. Divided evenly, that works out to about 10.17 crore taka a day, 42.36 lakh taka an hour, 70,600 taka a minute and 1,177 taka a second.
The fine, converted at 164.69 taka to the pound, comes to about 35,408 taka. At the paper's per-second figure, that sum is covered in around 30 seconds.
Messi comparison
দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা also compared the penalty with the earnings of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo's long-standing rival. Forbes ranks the 39-year-old Messi second with estimated income of $145 million: $70 million from playing for Inter Miami in the United States and $75 million from commercial activities away from the pitch. That off-field figure is $25 million more than Ronaldo's.
Messi's total annual income comes to about 1,793.94 crore taka, according to the paper's conversion. At that rate, he would need roughly 62 seconds to earn the equivalent of Ronaldo's fine — about twice as long as his rival.
Together, the two players are projected to earn about $445 million this season, close to half of the $942 million total attributed to Forbes' top ten highest-paid footballers. The rest of that list, as reported by দ্য ডেইলি স্টার বাংলা, comprises Kylian Mbappe ($100 million), Erling Haaland ($85 million), Vinicius Junior ($76 million), Lamine Yamal ($55 million), Sadio Mane ($54 million), Jude Bellingham ($45 million), Harry Kane ($42 million) and Mohamed Salah ($40 million).
The report concluded that while the £215 penalty amounts to half a minute of earnings for Ronaldo, the same sum is not trivial for most people.
What to watch next: whether Portugal's federation confirms the length and terms of the suspension, and whether Ronaldo or his representatives respond to the sanction.
