We’ve seen Cristiano Ronaldo threaten to leave Real Madrid on several occasions over the years.
More often than not, it turned out to be a clever ploy to squeeze an improved contract out of the La Liga giants but this time is very, very different.
Ronaldo is on his way to Juventus, where he is expected to see out his career, but his next club was up in the air until very recently.
According to Spanish football expert, Guillem Balague, Ronaldo had been offered to former club Manchester United, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, but neither decided to pursue the deal.
Instead, Ronaldo will move to Juventus and while Ryan Gigs has suggested that Lionel Messi played a role in the Portuguese talisman’s decision to head to Serie A, Balague believes it all boiled down to the fractious relationship between Ronaldo and Real Madrid’s president.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Balague said: “Jorge Mendes rang PSG and Manchester United, among others, and they all said no but once the Juventus offer arrived, Real Madrid said: ‘OK, we promised you six months ago that if €100 million came this way then you can go.’
"Jorge Mendes rang #MUFC and #PSG (about Ronaldo) and they said 'no'" â›”@GuillemBalague says Cristiano Ronaldo swapped #RealMadrid for Juventus because he wanted a better 'relationship with his boss'. pic.twitter.com/wyEdLNT5nn
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) July 10, 2018
“But even to that point, and this is only about a week ago, Ronaldo wanted Real Madrid to say: ‘No, we want you to stay. We love you and want you to stay.’ He never got that.
“In his eyes, having threatened to leave, that was confirmation that they didn’t want him. It’s one of those mixed situations where he said he was going and he actually didn’t mean it but he actually does.
“Eventually, Juventus said they could put the finances together and the offer has arrived to Real Madrid worth about €105 million.
“He will get exactly the same money that Real Madrid promised him before the World Cup, €30 million net. This clearly isn’t about finances and it’s not even about football. He’s leaving a club that has won the last three Champions Leagues. This is about his relationship with his boss, Florentino Perez.”
