Since his arrival in Saudi Arabia, and with retirement on the horizon, Cristiano Ronaldo has been exploring new business opportunities.

This summer, Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel - and made history. He became the fastest individual ever to reach one million subscribers.

And his off-the-field ventures also include gaming: he’s the ambassador for UFL, a new soccer sim that is  out on Thursday December 5 2024.

Ronaldo is also an investor in the video game: the 39-year-old is part of a group that pumped $40 million into the development of the project.

He’s not the only soccer star involved in UFL: Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku have also had a role in getting the game off the ground.

UFL was initially due to come out in September, but this release date  was delayed after testing, to improve the game play experience.

The game’s creators, Strikerz, are aiming to rival the two major soccer-sim franchises: EA FC (formerly FIFA) and eFootball (formerly PES).

Ronaldo was the face of both FIFA  and PES for a number of years,  but UFL is the first soccer game in which he has invested directly. 

UFL’s chief characteristic is that it’s  a ‘free to play’ game: users around  the world can enjoy the new sim without paying a single cent.

“The game is designed to be a  fair-to-play experience that implies  a skill-first approach and zero  pay-to-win options,” Strikerz say.