One man in a club always surrounded by rumors and speculation gets to be involved in them more than anyone else, especially this season. Recent troubles have actually made Cristiano Ronaldo available for transfer, or at least that’s what some would want us to believe, with Manchester United his preferred destination after the Real Madrid chapter is over.
The release clause on Ronaldo’s contract with Real Madrid, expiring in June 2015, says that anyone can purchase the Portuguese player, if only they offer £810 million, not something likely to happen in the near or distant future, despite very generous owners like Manchester City and PSG have.
And why are the rumors of Ronaldo’s impending departure floating up in the air once again? Every time Real Madrid don’t win a match, it’s a crisis. When they don’t win twice in a row, it’s a disaster. Jose Mourinho is on his way out, maybe even trying to sabotage the team, if you’d like to believe it. Cristiano Ronaldo, feeling that maybe he won’t be winning as many titles as he once thought when he moved to Real, not to mention Lionel Messi taking away Pichichi after Pichichi, is suddenly enticed by other realms.
The Real Madrid – Manchester Untied draw in the Champions League is another reason we’re suddenly discussing it. All the talk back and forth about the respect and admiration between Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo might have made some people sick, because there are those of us who prefer our football with a little less love involved, but it has brought up the issue of Ronaldo making his return to United at some point in his career. Maybe it’s just a media spin or some mind tricks applied by Ferguson, but it seems to have caught on.
The biggest reason, however, for Ronaldo to leave, is the same as it was earlier this season – his contract. He still hasn’t signed a new one, although he has been promised a big one when January arrives. Lionel Messi recently signed a six year, £100 million deal with Barcelona, making him the second highest paid footballer on the planet. Expect Ronaldo to look for exactly the same, probably even more, or the unhappy faces will begin once again.
So what’s the acceptable price? Somewhere in the region of £100 million. Someone even suggested a very accurate £122 million. Hard to say what’s true these days. What is true is that a new Spanish law will raise income tax from 24% to 52%, and this might be a good cause for Real Madrid to re-think their next contract offer, obviously doubling their expense on Ronaldo’s wages. Suddenly, offloading him for a new transfer fee record and saving the expense of his wages doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.