Pay £177m and go or sit tight - Madrid tells Ronaldo

Real Madrid has read the riot act for their super star and Ballon d’Or Cristiano Ronaldo with insinuations that the Portuguese is gradually assuming a larger than life posture while pushing for possible exit from Bernabeu.

It seems Cristiano Ronaldo recent fifth crowning as Ballon d’Or is a misnomer of his current status with Real Madrid.

According to a report in Diario GOL, club president Florentino Perez is growing tired of Ronaldo’s ‘arrogant’ approach to seeking a new contract.

Perez is apparently reluctant to reward the Portuguese with improved terms and no longer believes the club are in possession of the best player in the world.

However, Ronaldo’s commercial pull means Perez will not let his star leave on the cheap but – with a lack of suitors willing to meet his €100million (£88m) market value – Perez would demand the player buy his way out of his contract should he want to force an exit.

Perez would prefer Ronaldo to stay but if the forward decides he does not want to be held by the terms of his current contract until it expires in 2021, the report suggests Real would ask for £177m (€200m) in the case of a contract termination.

That figure is way below £880m (€1bn) buyout clause in the contract Ronaldo signed in November 2016 but apparently double what Ronaldo himself deems fair.

The Diario story suggests that Perez’s patience with Ronaldo is wearing thin and the club’s desire to bring Neymar to the Bernabeu in the summer of 2019 is a factor in the strategy.

On the pitch Real are currently fourth and eight points behind Barcelona in La Liga with Ronaldo has not been at his prolific best domestically, scoring four goals in 11 games. Although nine Champions League goals in just six games suggests any talk of a sharp decline is wide of the mark.
Although Ronaldo remains Real’s biggest asset how long that remains the case is becoming a topic worthy of discussion.

Meanwhile Valencia youngster Rafa Mir will reportedly join Real Madrid in the January transfer window.
Mir, 20, has netted 15 times in 17 league appearances this season for Valencia’s second team, who currently play their football in the Segunda B.

According to ElBernabeu.com, Real Madrid will pay “a small fee” to sign Mir, and the forward will initially represent Real Madrid Castilla with the view to becoming a first-team player in the future.
Mir, who represented Barcelona between 2009 and 2011, made his Valencia debut in their Champions League clash with Zenit St Petersburg in November 2015.

The forward began his career as a futsal player with CD Javali Nuevo and ElPozo Murcia FS before transitioning into full football with Ranero CF, whom he represented for two years before joining Barcelona.

Real Madrid are also expected to bring Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to the Bernabeu when the January transfer window opens for business.