Joshua and Ngannou will compete in a heavyweight match tomorrow night. The photocall comes before that.
Four extremely affluent athletes seem spot on in a billion-pound lineup alongside a Saudi magnate.
Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo and promoter Turki Alalshikh joined boxers Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Francis Ngannou in Riyadh.
In Riyadh, Cristiano Ronaldo and Turki Alalshikh joined Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Francis Ngannou.Joshua, who is reportedly worth £200 million, made a rare combined appearance with his £125 million foe Fury.
Their total wealth is slightly more than half of Ronaldo’s reportedly acquired £600 million.
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With an estimated net worth of £70 million, Alalshikh—nicknamed His Excellency—is the group’s richest member, with £5 million. Ngannou, on the other hand, is the least wealthy.
A boxing source said: “This is literally a billion dollar picture.
“When you look at those stars and how much they are worth, as well as Mr Alalshikh, the mind boggles.
“He holds the influence and the purse strings. Saudi is looking to overtake Vegas as the fight capital of the world and Alalshikh is a massive part of that.”
The picture was taken in advance of Joshua’s heavyweight matchup with Ngannou, a former mixed martial arts champion, on tomorrow night.
WBC champion Fury is in Saudi Arabia on May 18 to face IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk. He is come to support his brother Roman, who is competing on the undercard.
He posted online: “I want the winner after I smash the rabbit.”
Alalshikh also hinted at a future collaboration with Ronaldo, who, after joining the Saudi team Al-Nassr in 2022, is now the highest-paid football player in history.
The Portuguese megastar has a reported £173million salary, plus multiple deals with sponsors including Armani and Tag Heuer.
AJ — who has said he wants to become a billionaire — is raking in about £10million a fight, and the bankable star enjoys a string of commercial tie-ups.
“This is literally a billion dollar picture”
Boxing Source
Fury’s earnings rocketed when he beat then-world champ Wladimir Klitshcko in 2015.
The Gypsy King now commands huge purses for each fight, with claims he will bank about £100million for the Usyk showdown.
Cameroon-born Ngannou was reportedly paid about £500,000 for his last UFC heavyweight bout – but his earnings have soared since he switched to boxing.
He knocked Fury down in their fight last October before losing on points.
Fury and Ngannou battled each other in Saudi last year.
Joshua will face Ngannou this week after the UFC champ managed to knock Fury down in their fight.
