Having added a fifth Ballon d’Or to his name last week, reports surfaced claiming that Ronaldo was eyeing his departure from Real Madrid - even going as far as instructing his lawyers to try and lower the $1.17 billion release clause in his current deal with the European champions.
Naturally, given Ronaldo’s huge commercial pull, Real owner Florentino Perez is in no rush to let the former Manchester United star leave. Despite this, he has - reportedly, at least - told Ronaldo that he can leave if he is willing to pay big to make this happen.
According to Spanish outlet Diario Gol, the 32-year-old will have to stump up a whopping $235 million to force his exit from the club.
Predictably, reports are also suggesting that Perez has earmarked Neymar as Ronaldo’s replacement, after speaking highly of the Brazilian during last week’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.
“Being in Madrid would make it easier to win the Ballon d’Or,” Perez said. “Real Madrid is a club which gives all you need as a big player, everyone knows that I already wanted to sign him at one point.”
Given that Paris Saint-Germain forked out in excess of $266 million to sign Neymar from Barcelona in the summer, it will be interesting to see if the 25-year-old finds himself breaking his own world record again next summer.
As for Ronaldo, expect another batch of reports linking him with a return to Old Trafford to start doing the rounds any time soon.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints