Cristiano Ronaldo splashes £54M in hotel investments

Ronaldo owns the hotels in partnership with Pestana Hotels who will be managing the venture for the legendary football star.

Cristiano Ronaldo splashes $£54M in hotel investments (EPA)

After the successes of his footwear and fragrance line, Cristiano Ronaldo is moving into another venture, this time his line of hotels.

Ronaldo in December, 2015 unveiled his range of 'CR7' hotels in different four cities. It has now been revealed that the Real Madrid star has invested £54m in the new line.

Lobby Social Area at the CR7 Hotel in Madeira (Forbes)

The hotels are to be located in his hometown of Madeira, Lisbon, Madrid and New York.

Ronaldo owns the hotels in partnership with Pestana Hotels who will be managing the venture for the legendary football star.

The first hotel opens this weekend on the island of Madeira, southwest of Portugal and hometown of Ronaldo and Dionísio Pestana, owner and chairman of Pestana Hotel Group.

Cristiano Ronaldo suite at the CR7 Hotel in Madeira (Forbes)

Ronaldo and Pestana have been friends for many years and have not decided to invest in a business together.

The hotel in Lisbon will open in August, the one located in New York will start operations in 2017 while the one in Madrid will kick off 2019.

When the hotel line was unveiled in 2015, Ronaldo expressed his excitement at the new venture.

”My job is to play football, but life won’t always be like this. I have to dedicate myself to this new project and I have the best team in the world around me,” he said.

“I am young but I feel very fulfilled so this project is exciting for me. I’m thinking about my future, and my son and my family.”

CR7 Hotel in Lisbon (Forbes)

His popular CR7 brand is the main inspiration behind the hotels line, which will be boutique in style and will appeal to young millennial travelers.

Although they may not be considered luxury, their target is an upscale clientele. Ronaldo’s other venture like his fragrance, a planned furniture CR7 line will be integrated into the business.

The 31-year-old was recently named the fourth highest-earning celebrity of the past 12 months by Forbes Magazine.

According to Forbes, Ronaldo earned $88million (£66m) in the last year, $6.5m (£4.9m) more than Barcelona rival Lionel Messi, who was eighth on the list.