Ronaldo withdraws CR7 footwear range after pressure from Nike

Cristiano Ronaldo has been forced to ditch his own brand of trainers after pressure from Nike.

The Real Madrid star is one of the biggest name ambassadors of the sporting brand, but has faced criticism from their bosses over the launch of his own label.

Ronaldo, 30, wears Nike boots as well as clothing from the brand away from the pitch, in a deal which earns the Portuguese star approximately £5.5million a year.

Last year, Ronaldo launched his own range of shoes and trainers in a new line called 'CR7 Footwear', in collaboration with Portugal Footwear.

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His designs, which included sport shoes, were showcased in Milan and Las Vegas recently, but it appears that Ronaldo did not get Nike's prior approval.

According to reports in Portugal, Ronaldo would have required to get the thumbs up from Nike, otherwise it would have been a breach of his big-money contract with the sports brand.

Ronaldo will, however, still be able to sell his own brand of casual loafers and smart shoes, as Nike do not have a significant interest in that market.

That decision came in order not to antagonise or endanger their lucrative partnership.

Ronaldo is the second-highest earning sportsman in the world, behind Floyd Mayweather.