Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 7y

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo agrees new commercial partnership

Cristiano Ronaldo has announced a new commercial partnership just days after Monday's appearance in court to answers charges of tax fraud.

Ronaldo gave evidence for 90 minutes in front of judge Monica Gomez Ferrer, later issuing a statement in which he strongly refuted the case brought by prosecutors at Spain's Hacienda tax agency -- who maintain that he has committed a €14.7 million fraud involving his image rights.

The Portugal captain has let it be known that he feels unfairly victimised by the Spanish authorities and media, to the point of making him consider his future at Madrid. However Wednesday brought news that he has a new commercial partner in international forex broker Exness, which also this week announced a similar deal with the Bernabeu outfit.

"Just days after announcing an official partnership with Real Madrid, leading international forex broker Exness announces another partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo," the company's statement read. "The partnership follows the announcement of Exness' partnership with Real Madrid for the next three years and further solidifies the broker's commitment to innovation, excellence and ongoing success."

Ronaldo himself was also quoted in the statement as saying that he had been particularly impressed by the "socially conscious culture" at his new commercial partner.

"It's an honour to partner with an international company that gives back to the world not only in offering the highest quality of services but also in fostering a socially conscious culture," he said. "This captures my own personal agenda of being the best I can be on the international football scene and giving back to the community with every opportunity I get."

Another deal was done last week, with reports in the tech media saying the 32-year-old had become the majority shareholder in one of Portugal's biggest digital agencies, Thing Pink, and planned to use the company to create a new brand called 7EGEND.

Ronaldo currently earns an estimated $93 million a year, according to Forbes, with approximately half of that coming from image rights deals with his many sponsors.

The Portugal captain sold the management of this income to Singapore businessman and Valencia owner Peter Lim in June 2015.

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