Cristiano Ronaldo: Forbes names Portugal star "highest paid athlete"

NEW YORK, June 9 (UPI) -- $176 million.

That is how much money Cristiano Ronaldo generates on social platforms for his endorsement partners.

The Real Madrid forward is also the highest paid athlete in the world, bringing in $88 million, according to Forbes. Ronaldo brought in $32 million from endorsements and has 215 million followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Ronaldo brought in $56 million in soccer salary.

"Ronaldo generated $36 million in value for Nike on social media alone via his own accounts through 59 posts over the last 12 months, according to a study of the top-paid athletes by Hookit, which tracks sponsorship value in social and digital media. All of Ronaldo's partners got a total of $176 million in media value from his promotional work on social platforms," Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen wrote.

Ronaldo, 31, is the captain for Portugal. He narrowly edged his futbol rival, Lionel Messi, for the title. Messi brought in about $81.4 million to come in as the second highest earning athlete in the world.

Ronaldo was the 2016 La Liga Player of the Year for the UEFA Champions League champions. He has won the Pichichi Award, 2015 European Golden Boot, and 2014 FIFA Ballon D'Or since 2014.

Real Madrid has opened up the bank for Ronaldo, who recently told La Marca that other squads can "forget" claiming his services, as he plans to retire with the Spanish club.

"The other clubs [PSG, Manchester City] can forget it, I am going to retire at Real Madrid," Ronaldo told La Marca. "It would be smart of Real Madrid to renew my contract. I want to stay here. There have been good moments and others that were bad. Four years ago I wasn't happy but now I am content and I don't see any other club better than Real Madrid. None are better."