WHAT! Ex-Arsenal star worth 40 times more than Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has surpassed his colleagues and competitors when it comes to achievements both on and off the pitch and is one of the richest football player, has been outclassed by a comparatively less-known name in terms of wealth and net worth.

The accolades of ex-French footballer Mathieu Flamini don’t even come close to Ronaldo but he has surpassed the former Man United star who dominated the game for nearly two decades, but the former’s net worth is 40 times greater than the Portuguese star. 

Two times FA Cup and one Serie A title winner, french midfielder’s business venture has propelled him way ahead of Ronaldo, despite him trailing behind the Al Nassr forward if we see his performance and achievements on the football pitch.

The foundations for Flamini’s financial success were laid during his time AC Milan when he and his economics graduate business partner, Pasquale Granata, established the company “GF Biochemicals” to influence the energy industry.

The former Arsenal player went on to play for Crystal Palace and Getafe before retiring in 2019 at the age of 39.

By that time, he had invested millions into his company with the goal of producing levulinic acid, which is a synthetic oil substitute made from wood and corn waste.

In 2015, the company became the first in the world to mass-produce the acid, which can replace oil in various material manufacturing processes.

Flamini’s contribution as the former French midfielder earned him recognition among People of the Year in 2015 by the NME.

Expressing his views at the time on what led him to combine business and football, he told Sifted: “As a child, I had two passions, football and sustainability. I grew up in Marseilles near the sea, and was aware of the environmental questions around ocean plastics and chemical pollution from a very young age.”

Flamini is the official CEO of the company, valued at a remarkable £21 billion as per the English media reports.

To put this into perspective, this surpasses Ronaldo’s impressive net worth of £500 million by more than 40 times.