Football is filled with big stars and even bigger personalities, but none come close to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is arguably the greatest football player of all time, a lofty claim that many football fans would be quick to dispute. What’s harder to argue with is his bank balance, as he is undoubtedly the highest-earning football player in history.
Indeed, Ronaldo’s real treasures aren’t the trophies in his gigantic cabinet or the value he brings to any team he plays on… No, it’s the frankly outlandish purchases he spends his billions on. In particular, he’s got a decidedly ‘unique’ taste in watches – and by unique, we mean unbelievably gaudy.
Now it seems he’s passed that taste in timepieces on to his son, 10-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr. Father brought son along to front the cameras at the Globe Soccer Awards ceremony in Dubai yesterday – there to pick up the gong for ‘Player of the Century’ – both Ronaldos showing off some rather expensive wrist candy while they were at it.
Senior once again chose to rock his 1 of 1 Franck Muller Cintrée Tourbillon (worth around 1.5 million USD), but Junior joined The Flog Watch Party with an iced-out Rolex GMT-Master II (worth about half a million USD as well).
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Now, a father buying a nice watch for his son is one of those heartwarming, time-honoured traditions; a special part of growing up. Indeed, one only has to think of one of the most successful marketing slogans of the last two decades – “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”
Ronaldo has taken this idea to a truly unnatural conclusion, though. Who on earth thinks giving a 10-year-old a watch worth half a million big ones is a reasonable idea? Most of us would be quite happy with a Tissot, thank you very much. Or a Patek, if we’re really going to live up to the slogan.
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But with great power comes great responsibility. Or tacky, expensive watches, in this instance. If Ronaldo Jnr is really going to live up to his father’s name, he needs to start cultivating a taste for the ‘finer things’ alongside his football skills.
While Ronaldo Snr’s watch is decidedly more expensive than his son’s, both pieces are made from 18ct white gold and feature baguette-cut diamonds. Oh, and because a watch covered in diamonds wasn’t enough, Jnr also rocked a diamond chain. No such thing as spoiling someone for love, apparently.