Ronaldo to leave Real after after ‘bad deal’

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Real Madrid, according to reports in his native Portugal, in a decision that has been described as “irreversible”.

The 31-year-old former Manchester United winger is reportedly angry at his treatment by Spanish tax authorities and wishes to leave the country, according to the front page of Portuguese daily A Bola on Friday.

Ronaldo is the subject of a lawsuit brought by Spanish prosecutors over tax that they believe he should have paid on image rights income. The winger is being accused of defrauding nearly €15m from the taxpayer.

Real Madrid issued a statement fully supporting the player, claiming they were “absolutely convinced of his innocence.”

The Portuguese legend this month won his third Champions League as a Madrid player, and fourth of his career, but is so “indignant” at what he feels amounts to persecution that he is ready to walk away, and has communicated that decision to Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid president.

A Bola recently also claimed that Ronaldo would be the subject of a €180m bid this summer, suggesting this outcome may have been in the pipeline for some time.

Paris Saint-Germain have been long- term admirers of the Madeira-born star and held a number of secret meetings with him over a transfer during the 2015/16 season. Club president Nasser El-Khelaifi would jump at another chance to sign Ronaldo, even if there were suggestions he leveraged PSG’s interest to boost the multi-million euro contract extension he signed last year.

Manchester United, too, would be keen on bringing Ronaldo back to Old Trafford. Ed Woodward remains obsessed by star appeal and signing football’s biggest individual brand would tick every box as United look to return to being title challengers.

With the collapse of their move for Antoine Griezmann and Andrea Belotti proving too expensive, Ronaldo could be the perfect tonic for United even if it is hard to imagine a scenario where Ronaldo decided to leave Madrid and United hadn’t already been informed.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s representatives declined to comment when approached THE INDEPENDENT