Cristiano Ronaldo might have (but probably hasn’t) played his last game for Real Madrid
Within minutes of the final whistle in last month’s Champions League final, Ronaldo was dropping not-so-subtle hints that his future may lie away from Real – speaking about his time at the club in past tense.
Inevitably, transfer-windowly rumours of a return to Manchester United soon surfaced, as did talk of a big money move to Paris Saint-Germain.
For now he remains a Real player, with some reports suggesting Ronaldo’s comments may merely be an attempt to get himself an improved contract at the Bernabeu. It’s been claimed in the media that the 33-year-old has been unhappy at receiving a weekly wage that is less than those received by both Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and PSG’s Neymar. With this in mind, Sport report that the news that he’s no longer the top earning footballer in Madrid has also not gone down well with the Portugal captain.
Last week, Antoine Griezmann confirmed he would be staying put at Atletico Madrid (in cringeworthy fashion), despite strong interest from Barcelona. Having decided to remain with Atleti, he was rewarded with a bumper new pay deal. The French international’s improved contract means that Ronaldo has now slipped to fourth in the wage league.
Ronaldo regards himself as the best player in the world and, the report adds, believes his wage packet should reflect this.
Ronaldo scored all three of Portugal’s goals in their World Cup opener against Spain last Friday night. They return to action on Wednesday with a game against Morocco and will also face a final group game against Iran next Monday.
He is not expected to make any more decisions on his future until the end of the tournament, although his representatives are reported to have held discussions about an improved contract prior to his arrival in Russia.
