Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly admitted that he does not wish to leave Madrid and wants to see out his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Portuguese icon, widely regarded as one of the best players football has ever seen, moved to Madrid back in 2009. Real Madrid forked out a fortune back then for him to lure him away from Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United by making the most expensive player in the world.
He has since gone on to win the best player of the year on five occasions and become the club’s all-time leading goal scorer in the process. His eight-year stay at Madrid has seen him become an icon at the Bernabeu and Ronaldo’s goal-scoring feat has helped Real Madrid win every possible trophy available in club competition.
Ronaldo, who turned 33 this year, is slowly entering the final phase of his career and despite having confirmed that he is seeking a new contract, Real Madrid will want to scout for possible replacements for the iconic Portuguese forward. President Fiorentino Perez has confirmed that the Portuguese has not asked to leave amidst reports linking him with a move to China.
For his part, however, Ronaldo had made it clear that he wants to stay with the club.
“Of course I want to stay here, I love this club,” he told Chinese football app Dongqiudi. “I like living here. I’ve lived in this city since 2009 and I love the weather and the people. It’s close to Portugal and you can get there by car. Spain is a great country, I love it.”
He has been an asset to the club and clearly has a few more years of top football left. Madrid has to be very delicate with their handling of such a world-class player as it will reflect poorly upon their record of dealing with club legends. Moreover, it will also set them up to help close deals for superstars in the future if their treatment of Ronaldo is of the highest class.
Ronaldo – who is contracted to Real Madrid until 2021 – admits he may need to rethink his plan to keep playing until he is 41.
He said: “This feeling is incredible. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of. Now, my plan to retire at 41 will probably be a bit more difficult to achieve, and now we live in the moment. Being a coach is not part of my plan, but you also know that people change their minds. For the moment I don’t want to be a coach.”
Should the Portuguese change his stance, he could follow in the steps of club legend Zinedine Zidane who recently gave the trophy-decorated club an unprecedented history of back-to-back Champions League trophies. A real decision for Madrid then as no matter where he ends up, everyone will want to see him get the respect for what he has given to the game.
