Ronaldo laughs off pay-rise plea from journalists after taking stake in streaming firm

Cristiano Ronaldo responded with good humour after two journalists jokingly asked for a pay rise and a supercar following his acquisition of a stake in LiveModeTV Portugal, a streaming company broadcasting 2026 World Cup matches on YouTube free of charge.

The announcement came shortly after Portugal’s 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan on Tuesday, in which Ronaldo scored twice. Speaking to the journalists post-match, one asked when they could “negotiate a raise” now that Ronaldo was technically their boss. A second went further, requesting a company car from Ronaldo’s personal collection. The 40-year-old’s response was characteristically relaxed: “Sense of humour, I like it. Today is a good day for having a sense of humour. The last game it wasn’t.”

LiveModeTV confirmed the partnership in a statement, saying the two parties aimed to bring “live football to YouTube in a new way, with fans at the centre of everything.” In a separate statement to Bloomberg, Ronaldo said sport “can change lives” and described the venture as an effort to “enrich the ecosystem, broadening the reach and engagement of top competitions through YouTube broadcasts and content distributed across all social media platforms for everyone.”

The company has close ties to Brazilian streamer Casemiro Miguel and his CazeTV platform, which launched in 2022 and has since covered the 2022 World Cup, the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and the revamped FIFA Club World Cup.

The investment adds to an already extensive business portfolio for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Ronaldo holds stakes in AI firm Perplexity, hotel group Grupo Pestana, Insparya hair-transplant clinics, HBL Pro2col Software LLC — a subsidiary of Herbalife — and Spanish club UD Almeria.

On the pitch, Portugal’s attention now turns to their final group game against Colombia this weekend. Just two points separate the sides, with both Colombia and Portugal having beaten DR Congo and Uzbekistan respectively. A win would secure top spot in the group for Fernando Santos’s side.