Real flush: Football star Ronaldo wins $15k in charity poker match

Football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo has continued his golden streak in 2016 with a sensational $15,000 win in a charity game of one-on-one poker against Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul.

The Portugal and Real Madrid winger, 31, claimed the cash prize for the Save the Children charity after beating Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman in the award-winning drama series, in a celebrity duel as part of a series created by PokerStars.

“To win the game, to win $15,000 for Save the Children, it’s a great honor,” a victorious Ronaldo said.

The win is part of a glittering run of success in 2016 for Ronaldo, who captained Portugal to Euro 2016 glory this summer just six weeks after winning the Champions League with club side Real.

Aaron Paul was magnanimous in his defeat to the two-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner.

“I really wanted to win, but that’s alright, because it was super fun,” he said after the match.

Ronaldo,who last year topped the Athlete’s Gone Good list of the world's’ most charitable sports stars compiled by Dosomething.org, posed earlier this month for another celebrity showdown at Conor McGregor's training headquarters before his rematch with Nate Diaz.

READ MORE: ‘He’s an animal’: McGregor faces Ronaldo in UFC Octagon

However, he isn’t the only footballer to take part in an all-star game of poker. His Brazilian namesake Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima faced off against tennis great Rafael Nadal in a similar tournament also hosted by PokerStars in 2013.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal and former Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo © David W Cerny © Reuters

Professional poker has a brand of stars in its own right, who often mingle with the elite of the sporting world.

Diaz himself was recently pictured in the company of playboy poker star Dan Bilzerian shortly before his second fight with Irishman McGregor.