Cristiano Ronaldo is expanding his business empire into the world of free sports streaming, just in time for the 2026 World Cup. The Portuguese superstar has taken a stake in LiveModeTV, a platform launched in December 2025 by Brazilian firm LiveMode, which streams live sports competitions at no cost to viewers.

This move marks LiveMode's first venture outside Brazil, and it's already making headlines. According to Portuguese sports outlet A Bola, the platform will broadcast 34 matches from the upcoming World Cup live and free of charge—including every game featuring the Portuguese national team. For fans who can't make it to the stadiums or afford pricey cable packages, this is a game-changer.

Ronaldo, never one to rest on his laurels, sees this as more than just a business deal. "Sport can change lives," he said in a statement to Bloomberg. He emphasized that the partnership aims 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." LiveModeTV echoed this sentiment on Facebook, promising to "bring live football to YouTube in an innovative way, putting the fans at the centre of everything."

This isn't Ronaldo's first foray into the business world. Over the years, he has quietly built a diverse portfolio that spans media, sports, and beyond. He holds stakes in Portuguese media group Medialivre and film studio UR-Marv, a collaboration with British director Matthew Vaughn. In football, he's invested in Spanish club UD Almería. Elsewhere, he's backed AI firm Perplexity, hotel chain Grupo Pestana, Insparya hair transplant clinics, and HBL Pro2col Software LLC, a subsidiary of Herbalife. Back home in Portugal, he's also an investor in porcelain manufacturer Vista Alegre. Many of these ventures fall under his iconic CR7 brand.

For sports fans, this latest move signals a shift in how top-tier competitions might be consumed in the future—free, accessible, and built around the fan experience. And with Ronaldo at the helm, it's sure to draw attention both on and off the pitch.