Cristiano sends an SOS to Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo's current deal with Real Madrid expires in 2021 but with the passing of time it appears unlikely he will fulfil its term. After his trouble with the Spanish Inland Revenue last summer the player stated his desire to leave Spain. Little attention was given to the comment as an exit for someone of his stature isn't resolved overnight. This time the suggestion is that the player is seriously contemplating a Bernabeu departure with Old Trafford his preferred destination. United was the club where the player blossomed and he won his first Ballon d'Or wearing the famous red shirt. His relationship with Florentino Perez has always been fraught with undercurrents of tension and the player now feels that the president has failed to be true to his word.
Tense relationship
Cristiano was not a Florentino Perez signing and the relationship between player and president has been fraught with occasional tension over the years. Cristiano has also been known to push the club to ensure his own interest surrounding contract deals have been met in the past with the player acutely aware of what the contractual situation with Messi is at FC Barcelona. In the long run, he's lost the race as the likes of Messi and Neymar are earning more than the striker and Chinese based players such as Oscar or Lavezzi are also banking more than the Portuguese. Cristiano has won the past two Ballon d'Or awards and will not settle for fifth place in any ranking. He is adamant that Madrid should compensate his achievements with a new contract deal.
Neymar to the Bernabeu?
To add insult to injury, Florentino's recent comments, on the very day the latest Ballon d'Or was awarded where he claimed of his interest in securing Neymar's services would not have been well received by the Madeira born player. According to El Larguero radio show, Cristiano would be used in any future potential deal in bringing Neymar to the Bernabeu to ease the outlay on the Brazilian striker. This would be the tipping point for Cristiano who ironically has seen his goal scoring production dry-up in the domestic campaign and this (coupled with age factor) does little to help his bargaining powers. I'm inclined to think that the Neymar comment from Florentino was wishful thinking but I'm now seriously starting to contemplate the possibility of no Cristiano at Real Madrid come the new season.