Can they keep CR7 at the Bernabeu?
Every summer, stories about Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid start bouncing around. But it seems like this year, there is some actual substance to those rumours. According to reports in the Portuguese press, Ronaldo has told the Real president Florentino Perez that he wants to leave the club, and his decision is “irreversible”.
As you might expect, Real seem to be doing all they can to keep Ronaldo in Madrid. The star was accused by Spanish prosecutors this week of defrauding authorities of €14.8m worth of unpaid taxes between 2011 and 2014 – and his outrage at the accusations is what is making him want out.
If that is the case, Real Madrid might be trying to help him out. A report in The Sun says that they will pay his tax bill to get him to stay. As well as offering to extend his £365,000 deal to keep him at the club until 2021, they will give him a signing-on fee that will cover the money demanded by authorities.
Will that be enough to keep him at Real? Or will the allure of PSG/ a return to Old Trafford/ the MLS / (insert other rumour here) be too much for him?
