Real Madrid want Cristiano to go public and say he is leaving
Florentino doesn't want to be remembered for being the president who sold Cristiano. He wants Cristiano to do what Xabi Alonso did in 2014 before joining Bayern.
Cristiano Ronaldo's expected departure to Juventus has presented one small hitch. Jugones reported on Tuesday that Real Madrid had accepted a 100 million euro offer for the player from Juventus. But things are not quite a clear cut as that. Even up until this summer, Madrid have pointedly insisted that it would cost 1000 million euros to buy Cristiano out of his contract, whenever he has been linked to PSG or a move to China. Now the club is willing to accept an offer closer to a tenth of that figure - with one condition. Real Madrid want Cristiano to appear before the media to make it clear that he is leaving of his own accord and he must also thank the club (and the president) for services rendered. That however, is a condition which the player is not too keen on honouring. That was the route which Xabi Alonso was forced to take when he left the club in 2014. Madrid facilitated Xabi's departure even though he had only signed a two-year contract extension a few months previously. He was able to leave for just nine million euros - after accepting Madrid's precondition. "The club didn't want me to leave, but in the end they accepted my transfer request. My decision to leave isn't one which they share, but they understand", Xabi told the media, accompanied by Emilio Butragueño in his farewell press conference.
Madrid raise asking price for Cristiano
Following the reports published in La Stampa, claiming that Florentino is now asking for 150 million euros for Cristiano, the club may have realized that selling a player who has scored 450 goals in 438 games for just 100 million euros - even one who is 33 years old, might not be viewed positively by club members when compared to recent big signings in the transfer market: Neymar (222M€), Mbappé (180M€), Coutinho (160M€), Dembélé (115M€), Pogba (105M€), Bale (101M€), Higuaín (96M€), Lukaku (84.7M€), Luis Suárez (81M€) and Van Dijk (78M€).
Florentino seems to have changed the tactics he has used on two previous occasions when Cristiano has threatened to leave. The player expressed his discontent with the club in 2012 because he had not received a pay rise in four seasons (at United he had five pay rises in six years). Up until now, Florentino has always insisted: "If Cristiano wants to leave, then he must produce the 1000 million euros in his release clause". Now it seems, that the president is prepared to let him go.
