Friday 18 December 2015 10:48, UK
Cristiano Ronaldo has launched a £54m range of hotels in Madeira, Lisbon and Madrid, called CR7.
The Real Madrid superstar's playing future has been subject to speculation with former club Manchester United reportedly among his many suitors.
But he has already begun to think about life after football by launching the hotel chain, starting with three in Europe, while a fourth - in New York - is also in the pipeline.
"My job is to play football, but life won't always be like this," Ronaldo said. "I have to dedicate myself to this new project and I have the best team in the world around me.
"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."
The first hotel is expected to open next summer on the island of Madeira, where Ronaldo was born. Lisbon will be next, with the Madrid hotel due to open in 2017, potentially along with New York.
He added: "I will have the opportunity to be present as all the projects unroll but, of course, I don't have much time available at the present. But this is all about quality, and I like to be around quality.
"I'm certain that this investment is surely one of the safest deals that I can capitalise on for my future.
"The first hotel will be in Madeira and I want to be at the opening of all of them. I'm very happy with Madeira and the second being in Madrid - where I play - so it makes a lot of sense. I'm extremely happy because this is the biggest project in my life and it's completely different to what I do.
"We were considering only one hotel originally, so to start with four locations is a big kick-off! It's like playing for the first time and suddenly scoring lots of goals.
"This came about naturally and it made me feel good about this project. That's why when you ask about the future, I don't know.'
