After helping Real Madrid win their historic third consecutive UEFA Champions League title, Cristiano Ronaldo sent the world into a dizzying frenzy when he hinted at a potential exit. Despite seemingly backtracking on his claims a few days later, reports have continued to float around – reports linking him with an exit from Madrid and with moves to various top European clubs.
He then went away to Russia to lead Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the rumours seemed to die down, albeit temporarily. Now that Portugal have crashed out of the footballing extravaganza, all eyes seem to be back on Ronaldo and his future.
Despite being tied down to a release clause of €1 billion (£883 million), Ronaldo is allegedly keen on a massive pay rise that will bring him on par with the likes of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar.
Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez, had stubbornly maintained that Ronaldo would only be allowed to leave if his release clause was met. However, latest reports suggest that Madrid could just allow their talismanic forward to leave for a price much, much lesser than his release clause.
According to El Chiringuito TV show Jugones, Real Madrid are reportedly willing to accept a fee of €100 million (£88 million) from European rivals and 7 consecutive times Serie A champions, Juventus