Cristiano Ronaldo adds free sports streamer to his business empire ahead of the World Cup

By Ema Gil Pires Published on 15/05/2026 - 10:26 GMT+2 Share Comments Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp

The channel will be responsible for showing 34 matches from the 2026 World Cup, live and at no cost to viewers, including all the matches of the Portuguese national football team.

Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a stake in the company behind Portuguese streaming platform LiveModeTV, the platform announced on Thursday, adding a sports media investment to an already sprawling business portfolio.

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LiveModeTV, launched in December 2025 by Brazilian firm LiveMode, streams sports competitions free of charge via the internet. The platform is LiveMode's first project outside Brazil and operates in Portugal.

According to Portuguese sports outlet A Bola, the platform is set to broadcast 34 matches from the 2026 World Cup live and free of charge, including all of Portugal's games.

In a statement sent to Bloomberg, Ronaldo said sport "can change lives" and that the partnership aimed to "enrich the ecosystem, broadening the reach and engagement of top competitions through YouTube broadcasts and content distributed across all social media platforms for everyone."

"Together, we're going to bring live football to YouTube in an innovative way, putting the fans at the centre of everything," LiveModeTV said in a Facebook post announcing his involvement, with the World Cup less than a month away.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Ronaldo said sport "can change lives" and that the partnership was intended to "enrich the ecosystem, extending the reach and involvement of the main competitions through broadcasts on YouTube and content distributed on all social media platforms for everyone."

Ronaldo's business interests

In recent years, Ronaldo has moved steadily to expand his investment portfolio beyond football. His holdings span several sectors: in media, he has stakes in Portuguese group Medialivre and film studio UR-Marv, a venture with British director Matthew Vaughn.

In football, he holds an investment in Spanish club UD Almería. He has also backed artificial intelligence firm Perplexity, hotel group Grupo Pestana, Insparya hair transplant clinics, and HBL Pro2col Software LLC, a subsidiary of Herbalife.

In Portugal, he is also an investor in porcelain manufacturer Vista Alegre. Several further investments are held under his CR7 brand.

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