Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid for Juventus in £93m transfer
Cristiano Ronaldo has moved to Juventus, sealing one of the biggest transfer deals in history.The Italian club’s offer of £93 million for the attacker was accepted by Real Madrid and Ronaldo has agreed a contract worth £26.5 million a year, which will be an increase on the £18 million salary he earned in Spain.Andrea Agnelli, the Juventus president, travelled to Greece where Ronaldo has been on holiday with his family in an effort to complete the deal.
Real accepted Ronaldo’s desire to leave after nine years at the club in which he became their all-time top scorer with 451 goals and helped them to four Champions League titles in the past five seasons.The fee is the fifth-largest ever following that of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé to Paris Saint-Germain and the transfers of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé to Barcelona. The fee is more than the £80 million that Ronaldo cost Real from Manchester United in 2009. The sum also eclipses Juventus’ record transfer fee of £79million paid for Gonzalo Higuaín in 2016.
Ronaldo, who will have his medical with Juventus next week, will earn ?30million a year (£26.5 million), roughly £500,000 a week. Neymar earns ?36.8 million (£32.5 million) a year at Parc des Princes.The Spanish club said in a statement on their website: “Real Madrid wants to express its gratitude to a player who has proved to be the best in the world and who has marked one of the brightest times in the history of our club and world football.
“Beyond the conquered titles, the trophies achieved and the triumphs achieved in the playing fields during these nine years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been an example of dedication, work, responsibility, talent and improvement.
“For Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will always be one of his great symbols and a unique reference for the next generations. Real Madrid will always be your home.”
Despite’s Ronaldo’s record, friction between him and Real resurfaced this summer and the Spanish club want to reshape a squad that finished 17 points behind Barcelona last season. That Ronaldo turned 33 could have contributed to Madrid’s decision.
He declared on several occasions that he wanted to leave the Spanish club and moments after he lifted the Champions League trophy in May, he appeared to suggest he had already decided to leave Real, telling a television reporter: “It was beautiful to play for Real Madrid.” The next day he appeared to backtrack during the celebration parade through the Spanish capital when he told supporters: “See you next season.”
Ronaldo is believed to have felt that Real ignored him while the club searched for his successor and publicly courted Neymar and that he was promised a new contract last summer and was frustrated when it did not materialise. He was also annoyed that Madrid did not support him in his dispute with the Spanish tax office in the way that Barcelona helped Lionel Messi in a similar issue. Those issues seemed to contribute to an erosion of his relationship with Florentino Pérez, the Real president.Ronaldo was given a standing ovation in Turin when he scored twice, including a bicycle kick, in a 3-0 win in the Champions League quarter-final first leg last season but he was unable to help Portugal beyond the first knockout stage at the World Cup finals.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/cristiano-ronaldo-leaves-real-madrid-for-juventus-in-93m-transfer-f80vjhc66
