Forbes.com Says Ronaldo's Goals Will Be Expensive But His Payback Will Be As Big As Beckham's:

Forbes.com compares Real Madrid's Ronaldo aquisition to that of Zidane:

"The bounty paid for Zidane is a mere pittance compared with the record $130 million transfer fee Real paid Manchester United in early June for Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning Best Player in the World. Ronaldo's soon-to-be teammate Kaka, the 27-year-old 2007 World Player of the Year, held the transfer record just two days prior to Ronaldo when Real Madrid shelled out $91 million to acquire his rights from AC Milan. The fees paid for the dynamic duo increased the all-time average transfer fee for our top 10 list 20% to $75 million."

"The 24-year-old Ronaldo, branded as CR7, inked a six-year contract that is estimated to initially pay $15.5 million and increase 25% each season. In total he could cost the club $304 million. If the Portuguese winger scored a goal in every game in six seasons in La Liga, he would rank fourth on our list, with each point costing Real $670,000. It would be unprecedented to go on a scoring tear like that. More likely if he produces as he did at Man U, scoring in 43% and registering an assist in 21% of his career matches, Ronaldo would rank eighth on our list with each goal-making play he was involved in costing the club $1.25 million.

But the better comparison is to Beckham:

"And some players are worth every transfer penny, even if they fail to deliver on the pitch, because of the marketing dollars they generate for their clubs. After Real Madrid paid a $50 million transfer fee to ManU in 2000 for David Beckham, Real earned $100 million from selling Beckham jerseys in his first six months with the club. In total, Beckham made a staggering $600 million in marketing and commercial activities for the club during his four years in Spain. Ronaldo may have a similar impact." (Source)