Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Real Madrid to cough out £36m (N17.8
billion) as his yearly salary, to bring him at par with his Barcelona
rival, Lionel Messi or he will leave the club.
At present Ronaldo earns £18.6m a year, but reports from multiple
sources said the Portuguese star wants a pay rise of close to
£17million, which will make his pay packet swell to £35.6 million.
According to Sport, the Portuguese forward has made it clear to
Real’s hierarchy that he wants monetary parity with Messi or he will
leave the club.
According to reports, Messi got a fatter pay at the Nou Camp following his recently signed deal.
Ronaldo, who signed a new contract in November 2016, has been left
frustrated by Real president Florentino Perez who has stalled on
offering him an improved contract.
Reports in Spain have said that the 32-year-old was promised one
after spearheading Real to a La Liga and Champions League double last
season.
However, without fruition of one; Los Blancos’ No 7 feels
undervalued and has cited this as a reason for his goalscoring woes at
the moment.
Ronaldo, who has been linked with a return to Manchester United,
signed his current five-year contract – which runs until 2021 – in
November 2016.
Should Real pay?
Sixty nine per cent of the people who responded to an online poll
by www.marca.com, believed the Spanish giants should not do so, why 31
per cent supported his demand.
Pablo Polo, writing for Marca, argues that Real Madrid should ignore Ronaldo’s blackmail on four grounds:
First because Ronaldo isn’t at his best right now, at least in LaLiga, where he has just four goals.
Secondly, Ronaldo renewed his contract in November of 2016 and his
current deal runs until he is 36. He’ll be making more money than most,
even at this age.
Polo also reasoned that Ronaldo may have been the best player of 2017, but the situation has changed.
Sergio Fernandez writes that the star player deserves the new wage
because the Madrid President, Florentino Perez has always said that
Ronaldo is the best player in the world and in history.
“Being fair, Ronaldo has paid back every euro he’s earned and has brought so many individual and collective titles to the club.
“Real Madrid still have the Copa del Rey and the Champions
League to fight for this season and, with an on-form Ronaldo, this could
still be a not-terrible year for the club”.
-NAN