Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo blocked the Instagram account of Transfermarkt after taking issue with the valuation the site had given him.
The website employs over 80 people and has more than 1000 volunteers working for it, all of whom evaluate information and research to come up with a number they feel matches a player's worth.
In March of 2020, however, Ronaldo took issue with a “Jorge Mendes XI”, a team made up of players represented by the 'super agent' in which the Portuguese was given a €75 million (£62m/$84m) valuation.
What was said?
Explaining how the incident happened, Transfermarkt coordinator Christian Schwarz told The Athletic: “He sent a message first to our social media guys. They answered him, explained why, and told him, ‘The people in your age group, you are by far the number one’.
“It was £30-50 million difference [between Ronaldo and the next player on the list], and then he sent some smilies, and then he blocked us.”
Schwarz actually misremembered the graphic that was posted, having stated in the interview that it was a team of players aged 33 or older.
Indeed, Ronaldo's Portugal team-mate Bernardo Silva, also a client of Mendes, was valued the highest – at €100m (£83m/$112m).
How much is Ronaldo worth now?
Transfermarkt currently values Ronaldo at £31.5m (£42m), less than half of what the site quoted just under two years ago.
However, Schwarz made it clear that age (Ronaldo turns 37 in February) plays a big role when deciding how much a player is worth.
“Age is now one of the most important factors,” Schwarz said. “And Cristiano Ronaldo is old, same with Lionel Messi, and they will get their value reduced just because of their age.
“Even if they are just as good as three years ago, they are three years older.”
Ronaldo's transfer costs
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo originally moved from Sporting CP to Manchester United in a move worth £17m ($23m), spending six years at Old Trafford in his first stint in the Premier League.
A €94m (£78m/$105m) move to Real Madrid followed before the Portugal captain then made the switch to Juventus for €100m (£83m/$111m).
When he returned to United in 2021 at the age of 36, under a year after Transfermarkt's aforementioned €75m graphic, the deal cost an initial £13 million ($18m) with add-ons of up to £7m ($9m)
