Just like Cristiano Ronaldo is close to turning 40 (he will do so in February next year) and has been playing in a minor league such as Saudi Arabia for some time; The Portuguese star remains a world sports star. And proof of this is the media impact that everything he does has, both on the field and off. Whether it’s brand new a new luxury car, like the Rolls Royce that Georgina Rodríguez gave him two Christmases ago, or showing off a new watch valued at one and a half million euros, only suitable for very privileged pockets. The brands know this and, therefore, Cristiano Ronaldo still has countless advertising contracts. It is a global demand in any sector: from fitness and nutrition to video games, a sector in which the athlete born in Madeira has focused his interests, who has decided to switch to martial arts… without stopping scoring goals.
This same year the news went viral that Cristiano Ronaldo became a shareholder in the video game United Football League (UFL)a title that has not yet seen the light of day on the market but which is said to want to confront the football video games that dominate the market. The Al-Nassr player, according to what was published in international media, would have contributed more than 40 million dollars for the development of this video game about his sport.
Not content with this first step into the world of video games, in recent days Cristiano Ronaldo has announced a second project in the same industry. But in this case it is not a football video game, but rather the Portuguese is going to collaborate, it is still not known how, with the new title of a iconic martial arts saga: Fatal Fury.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo himself who announced through his X profile (formerly Twitter, although practically all those who use it continue to call Elon Musk’s social network that way) his participation in Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolvesthe iconic “fighting” video game franchise that belongs to the SNK company. “Something exciting is being done,” is the phrase chosen by Cristiano Ronaldo to announce the video in which his connection with Fatal Furywhose new title will be released in April 2025 —it will be disponible para consolas PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S y PC—.
It is still early to know what Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship with Fatal Furyif he will remain an investor, the same facet of his collaboration with the aforementioned UFL football video game, or if he will even have his own character, something that is already being widely speculated on social networks after the football star’s announcement.
If it were to happen, if Cristiano Ronaldo became a martial arts video game character, he would face not only all the characters in the saga, such as Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui, but he would also be able to fight with two iconic characters of this type of game. video games: Ken and Chun-Li, from Street Fighter. We know this because right after Cristiano Ronaldo’s announcement it was confirmed that these two virtual stars will be guest characters on Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves. Ken will arrive in the summer of 2025 and Chun-Li will do the same in the winter of that year.
Although there is nothing official about it, it seems that Football has had something to do with Cristiano Ronaldo’s jump into martial arts. On the one hand, it is obvious that without being a soccer star he would not have the media position he maintains. But, it also turns out that SNK, the company founded in Japan (the same one that created historical games like Metal Slug) that develops the ‘Fatal Fury’ video game saga with which Cristiano Ronaldo is going to collaborate, is majority controlled by the Saudi Arabia Future Investment Fund. This, in turn, is managed by Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, a key figure in Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Al Nassr FC, with whom he has a contract until June 2025.
Cristiano Ronaldo in one of his last games
instagram @cristiano
Until we see whether Cristiano Ronaldo also becomes a virtual star of martial arts video games or not, what seems clear is that The Portuguese has decided to further expand his business investments if possiblewhich range from luxury hotels, exclusive gyms and even hair clinics.
Now, just as a former teammate of his at Real Madrid, Toni Kroos, has done with alternative football by creating a kind of German version of the King’s League, Cristiano Ronaldo is expanding his economic interests to video games by switching to martial arts.
