Soccer stars are taking center stage with the kickoff of FIFA World Cup 2018. These stars collect large paychecks. Many make more in one year than we can expect to make in a lifetime. So what are the biggest stars invested in? Some may surprise you.

The 21st FIFA World Cup is upon us, drawing in legions of loyal fans and viewers from around the world. The prestigious, quadrennial soccer tournament is being held in first-time host Russia’s country this year. There, players on men’s teams from countries like Brazil, France, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, Australia, and Iran (among many others) will compete for the title of champion, which they will hold until 2022.

Though the World Cup only comes around every four years, it boasts an unrivaled viewership. In fact, it’s the most followed–and most widely viewed–sporting event in the world, surpassing even the Olympic Games. It’s no wonder, then, that some of these teams’ most popular players have loyal and interested followings–even involving topics outside of football.

One of the most interesting topics surrounding some of these high-paid footballers? What they do with all of that money.

Let’s take a look at five of the World Cup players with the highest net worths, and where they choose to invest their millions around the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Investments

National Team: Portugal

Club: Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo is (debatably) the most popular soccer player of all time. In fact, he was recently dubbed the most popular athlete on the planet, blasting out of the water greats like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Tom Brady.

Much of this is due to his skill on the field. Some of it may also be thanks to his endless magazine features, underwear modeling, endorsements, playboy ways, and social media accounts–after all, that’s enough to get just about anyone famous these days. There’s one more reason that people around the world are interested in Cristiano Ronaldo, though: his net worth and business ventures.

The popular footballer has an estimated net worth of just under $450 million, according to sources like Sports Illustrated. He has proven himself to be more than just a pretty face over the years, though, choosing to invest his millions in real estate ventures around the globe.

In 2015, Ronaldo partnered up with one of Portugal’s largest tourism and leisure firms, the Pestana Hotel Group, to invest $40 million of his hard-earned cash in four boutique hotels. The hotels–which are named after his own personal brand, CR7–were to be built in cities that had deep and personal connections to Cristiano. The first two have already been built, with the last two ready to break ground any day now. They include hotels in:

• Funchal, Portugal (on the island of Madeira), which is Ronaldo’s hometown
• Lisbon, Portugal, where Ronaldo began his career as a youth
• Madrid, Spain, where he has played for many years for the famed Spanish club, Real Madrid
• New York City, where Ronaldo has been considering playing for Major League Soccer

It’s also been recently announced that, in 2019, the CR7 brand of hotels will be opening a location in Africa. The newest addition to the soccer star’s boutique chain is slated to be located in Marrakech, Morroco.

Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t stop with hotels, though. The CR7 name extends much, much further than that.

The Real Madrid player’s brand produces men’s and children’s items, such as luxury denim, shirts, shoes, and even jackets. He has his own fragrance line for both men and women, branded under CR7 and Cristiano Ronaldo Legacy. He is slated to open branded restaurants in Brazil beginning in 2019. He has partnered up with Crunch Gym and opened two of his own branded fitness centers. They’re called… you guessed it, CR7 Fitness.

Oh, and don’t forget the time he put out his own video game. It’s called Kick’N’Run, and it’s available for both Android and Apple devices.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a smart man. He recognized his own popularity and the power that it can hold (similar to what we see from many reality TV celebrities these days), capitalizing on his own image. By creating the CR7 brand, Ronaldo was able to invest in himself. While this approach probably won’t work for your portfolio or mine, it appears to be a pretty successful move for the most popular athlete on the planet.

Lionel Messi’s Investments

National Team: Argentina

Club: Barcelona

The second-highest paid soccer star, who you will also see playing in the World Cup in the coming weeks, is Lionel Messi. He plays for Argentina’s national team, and for Barcelona, where he nets an impressive salary for his fancy footwork.

As much as his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, enjoys being the center of attention, Messi keeps to himself. The notoriously reserved and private footballer has a net worth of somewhere around $400 million–not too far from the net worth of Ronaldo–but doesn’t spend his days modeling underwear or branding fragrances. So, where does he prefer to invest his high-dollar earnings?

Well, it would seem that he actually does have something else in common with Ronaldo, after all.

Last year, Messi plopped down $35 million to purchase the MiM Hotel, a luxury four-star in the beachfront town of Sitges. Located just outside of Barcelona, the gorgeous hotel boasts 77 rooms and a view of the sea.

He doesn’t plan to stop with the MiM Hotel either, it would seem. Messi recently founded a company, called Rosotel, along with his brother Rodrigo. Not much has been said about Rosotel yet, but it would seem that the company has plans to invest in both hotels and apartment buildings.

The two highest-earning footballers both invest in hotels and other real estate ventures. This certainly piques my interest, what about you?

Neymar’s Investments

National Team: Brazil

Club: Paris Saint-Germain

You know you’ve made it when you’re simply known by your first name, as is the case with our next pro footballer, Neymar. The Brazilian footballer, whose name is actually Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, brings up third place with an impressive net worth of over $185 million.

However, don’t be fooled just because he doesn’t have the worth of the two previous stars; Neymar is actually considered the most expensive soccer player of all time. Not only did his current team pay a record-breaking amount in order to purchase him, but they’re also paying him the highest soccer salary of all time: $53 million a year.

In addition to being the highest-paid footballer in the world, he also brings in millions in endorsements each year. It’s obvious that companies and teams find Neymar worth the investment–so what does Neymar choose to invest his money in?

Well, a variety of things.

First, he has launched his own soccer school franchise, called Neymar Sports. The franchise sets out to offer “a unique experience in learning about the fastest growing sport in the world [using] its own methodology and professionals.” The schools will help others learn and develop the fundamental skills, rhythm, and creativity required to excel in sports. While soccer is obviously the default area of expertise, the schools will actually cover a number of sports. The primary focus is to introduce children ages 6-13 to team sports, getting them off of their couches and onto the field.

Neymar Sports is set to open over 100 locations in Brazil, the U.S., China, and Australia. The very first school will be located here in America, opening its doors in Miami.

One of the more interesting choices I discovered was his decision to invest in League of Legends. This esports video game platform was designed for multiple players, allowing teams from around the world to compete in real-time and even win cash if they are victorious. Neymar determined that investing in his own team on the gaming platform was a wise decision, though the cost of doing so seems to have been kept under wraps.

One of Neymar’s other investments is more of a social project, and one that is sure to do plenty of good back home. He signed on with the FC Barcelona Foundation to help promote social projects, especially among children in the communities. It will not only provide introduction and instruction to sports like football, but will even provide children with the necessary equipment to play.

The Neymar Jr. Project Institute–a massive education complex that is still under construction–is set to have classrooms, playing fields, and a swimming pool. It aims to provide activities for underprivileged children in Praia Grande, as well as promote the academic performance of its 2,500 students. To do so, the institute will provide extra classes and other educational activities for children who need it.

Luis Suárez’s Investments

National Team: Uruguay

Club: Barcelona

Our next pro World Cup player is Luis Suárez. With a net worth of almost $40 million, this footballer has an impressive game on the field as well as a satisfying salary. So, what does he do with his money?

Well, if you haven’t noticed the trend by now, you’re about to. Suárez partnered up with a few Arsenal footballers to build up his portfolio, all combined sinking $67 million in a private rental property investment in England. While it’s unclear exactly how much of that Suárez put forth, it’s sure to be a significant chunk of his Barcelona salary.

The property investment venture, which began in 2014, has been buying and developing sites in northwest England. Named Capital & Centric Investments LLP, the group has set its sights on an 8-10% return each year, with its ultimate goal being to build a portfolio worth nearly $350 million in the years to come.

Not a bad way to turn $40 million into a whole heck of a lot more.

Mohamed Salah’s Investments

National Team: Egypt

Club: Liverpool

Last but not least, we have Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah. His net worth rests around $28 million, with an annual salary of just over $2 million with the Liverpool team. He’s known not only for his beard, his post-goal celebrations, and his religious affiliation, but also for the social projects in which he invests. In fact, he’s spent his money doing so much good for others, that he’s come to be known as the Happiness Maker.

Mohamed Salah grew up in the poor Egyptian town of Nagrig. While he now earns millions of dollars a year to play soccer for Liverpool, he’s never forgotten his roots. It’s no shock, then, that when his hometown needed money to buy land for a sewage treatment plant, Salah stepped up to the plate. In fact, he donated $450,000–roughly a fifth of his annual salary–to the town, ensuring that they would have access to clean water.

It’s also reported that Salah has donated money in the past to buy life-saving medical equipment (such as a dialysis machine for a Nagrig hospital), build an ambulance unit, and even renovate schools in his home village. He also donated $282,000 to a state-managed fund called Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt), the goal of which is to finance development programs in Egypt.

At the risk of sounding like an infomercial: but wait, there’s more.

Salah has also renovated a public sports center as well as a mosque. Oh, and earlier this year, he took part in a government-run video that aimed to fight drug addiction. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity, the PSA was incredibly successful. It is thought to be responsible for a 4x increase (over the three days following its airing) in the number of people seeking treatment for their drug addictions.

We don’t know every fund or stock that soccer pros choose to invest their money in, any more than we know where our boss, neighbor, or the guy at the coffee shop chooses to invest. We can see a few trends in the World Cup footballer world, though, with a strong focus on investment properties–namely, hotels.

What do you think about the investment choices of these professional athletes? Do you think these high-paid stars are making wise decisions with their salaries, enough that their portfolios will support them long after their careers end?

Related: FIFA World Cup 2018 – Does it Make Economic Sense?

Topics: Investing

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