Cristiano Ronaldo faces $1 BILLION lawsuit

Stuart Telford

• 15 Dec 2023 21:32 GMT
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo faces a class action lawsuit following his involvement with Binance, the cryptocurrency giant recently hit with a $4.3 billion penalty by the US Justice Department.

Ronaldo is currently the best-paid player in world football, earning €200 million a year with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has hit 16 goals in 15 Saudi Pro League games this season.

The Portuguese superstar has long made money away from his playing contracts, however, and one such deal saw him endorse Binance, who were selling NFTs that pertained to Ronaldo's career.

But now California resident Michael Sizemore is seeking damages in excess of $1bn after seeing the value of the goods he bought plummet by nearly 100 per cent.

"The primary issue the lawsuit discusses is Ronaldo's CR7 non-fungible token (NFT) collection, which debuted in November 2022…" report Investing.com.

NFT's 'selling for just $1

"At the time of minting, the cheapest NFT sold for $77, and the top-tier NFTs went for an average price of nearly $23,000. The NFTs are now essentially worthless, with many from the collection now selling for just $1."

The plaintiffs are reportedly claiming that Ronaldo's endorsement caused them to buy the NFTs, which they claim are unregistered securities that incurred sever financial losses.

Ronaldo is understood to have a net worth of $500 million, making him one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, but it remains to be seen what penalty, if any, he will need to pay.

Kim Kardashian had to settle a lawsuit owing to her involvement in EthereumMax, a crypto scam, in late 2022. That settlement was for significantly less than Ronaldo's, but it does set a legal precedent.

Ronaldo, who will meet career rival Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the Riyadh Season Cup in February, has not publicly commented on the issue.