Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly in talks to star in a documentary series for Facebook, made by the same studio behind Tom Brady’s Facebook series.
Sources told Variety that the talks are in the early stages if there is still no deal in place. The planned series could run for 13 episodes and earn Ronaldo $10 million.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, it would be produced by Matador Content and Religion of Sports, which also produced Brady’s Tom vs. Time series. Dirty Robber is co-producing.
The 33-year-old Ronaldo currently plays for Real Madrid and plays for Team Portugal on the world stage. He led his team to the 2018 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the Round of 16. Ronaldo helped guide Portugal to its first major tournament win during Euro 2016, the international tournament featuring all European teams.
Ronaldo has been with Real Madrid since 2009, although there have been rumblings about him leaving. According to ESPN, there are reports Ronaldo is interested in a 100 million euro transfer to Juventus, a team in Italy.
“If he leaves, it will be a new challenge for him,” his manager, Jorge Mendes told Portugal’s Record. “Should Cristiano leave Real Madrid he will be eternally grateful to the club, to the president, to the entire front office, the medical team and all the staff, without exception, as well as all the fans all around the world.”
No matter where Ronaldo ends up playing, he remains one of the most popular athletes in the world. He is the most popular athlete on Facebook with 120 million followers on his page.
In May, Ronaldo teamed up with former ABC executive Paul Lee’s studio to produce a scripted drama for Facebook Watch. According to Variety, the untitled drama will be about a diverse high school girls soccer team in upstate New York trying to succeed, despite their differences.
“The story of my life has many similarities with the highs and lows the girls varsity soccer team will face in the series. While the series is set against the background of soccer, it goes much deeper than just the beautiful game. It’s about values, challenges, friendship, difficult times, hard work, solidarity, tensions, and harmony. In a word — it’s about life,” Ronaldo said in a statement about the project.
Facebook has had success with sports-reality themed shows for its year-old Facebook Watch platform. Tom vs. Time has racked up 52 million views on Facebook so far. The platform also released Ball in the Family, which follows Lonzo Ball’s family.
The scripted project with Ronaldo is expected to cost more than $10 million.
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