Cristiano Ronaldo: I’ve Long Lost Track of My Possessions; Now I Just Want to Enjoy My Life

The first part of Piers Morgan’s conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo was officially broadcast live tonight. Below is the full transcript.

(At the start of the second segment, Morgan cited Ronaldo’s famous quote—“It’s records that are chasing him, not him chasing records”—to discuss Ronaldo’s financial situation.)

Ronaldo: I knew I would reach this financial level, so that’s just how it is.

Show me your left hand, because your left hand should be worth more than I’ve earned in my entire life. And I’m not poor, you know, but…

You mean my hand?

No, no, I mean your watch.

Oh this one? You know, when many people see my watch, they all say “wow, it’s so shiny!” But actually, most of the time when I go out, I wear a fake one.

Don’t laugh (Morgan bursts out laughing)—a lot of people don’t believe Ronaldo would wear a fake watch. Alright, I’m joking.

And you know what? I didn’t pay for this watch. It was a Christmas gift from Georgina, and it’s also a gift from my sponsor.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

Oh, the most expensive one… probably a plane, a private jet. I bought my first private jet 13 years ago, and a year ago I upgraded to a more expensive one—it’s from the Global Express series.

Let me put it this way: money gives you the ability to buy resources, but right now, I think the most important thing is that I want to start the next phase of my life, and this phase is completely different from the previous ones.

For example, when I was 20 or 30, I loved collecting cars and bought a lot of them, or bought planes. I bought a plane because I couldn’t go to the terminal every time— that’s the reason. To put it another way… um, or rather, it was actually for, how to say, comfort— to live a more comfortable life.

Now I just feel that I want to enjoy my life, and I’m gradually realizing that.

To be honest, I think you’re the most down-to-earth billionaire I know. Many people ask me what Ronaldo is really like, and I say you’re really a very ordinary person. We message each other often, and my feeling is that the Ronaldo I know has never forgotten his roots or his family. I know you enjoy your success, but I think you’ve never changed your life.

It’s really hard to explain this. Like I told you, I don’t care what people think of me, really. If they say I’m arrogant, cocky, or conceited, I truly don’t care.

Now I have a happy family— five kids, and some of them even play professional football. My teammates are also very kind to me. There are many things I don’t care about anymore; I just want to live happily. Being able to play football happily, score goals happily, and train happily— all these bring me joy.

I could buy everything, but I really don’t go shopping anymore because I don’t need to. Three days ago, I bought a car, but I’ll never drive it. It’s purely an investment, a collection, you know.

What car?

A Mercedes-Benz? Oh no, I bought a Bugatti. It’s just an investment.

How many cars do you own?

I don’t know. I don’t count how many cars I have. Really, I don’t count them.

(Ronaldo said he truly didn’t know, and swore on his kids that he had no idea how many cars he owned, but his favorite was the Bugatti.)

(Ronaldo then mentioned that he almost never drives his collected cars, and even has a driver in Saudi Arabia. But yesterday, Al Nassr gave him a new BMW, which he drove home.)