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New Information Emerges On Why Cristiano Ronaldo Left Real Madrid

New Information Emerges On Why Cristiano Ronaldo Left Real Madrid

Ronaldo left for Juventus in a £99 million move and he's continued his red-hot goalscoring form...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

There's new word on how Cristiano Ronaldo came to leave Real Madrid in a surprise move in the summer window.

There were a flurry of reports of how the five-time Ballon d'Or winner came to end his nine-year stint with Los Blancos and move to the Serie A champions - one being that the financial burden placed on Real was so great that they had to offload their prize asset.

However, Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague has a different explanation as to why Real and Ronaldo's love story ended earlier than anticipated.

Balague says that Ronaldo wanted a new contract at the club despite only signing one fairly recently and club president Florentino Perez was in favour, given that he was their talisman and a marketing phenomenon.

But when Perez mentioned about lowering the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's buy-out clause, he didn't take it well.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Speaking on the GB transfer show, per Daily Express, Balague said: "Julen Lopetegui had no idea Cristiano was leaving.

"There was no real push from Real Madrid for him to go. Cristiano was saying to Real 'if you want me to stay, then give me a new contract.'

"And Florentino Perez said OK - but if you wouldn't mind, lower your buyout clause. To a more manageable buyout clause.

"How do you think Cristiano reacted to that? He was like 'they don't want me, they don't want me! Go get me a team to Jorge Mendes [his agent].'"

Back in October, Ronaldo was asked why he made the decision to depart the Spanish capital and gave an in-depth response.

It had nothing to do with Zinedine Zidane leaving following three successive Champions League, instead it was more about Ronaldo feeling he wasn't 'numero uno' anymore.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start," he told France Football, via the Guardian.

"In the first four or five years there, I had the feeling of being 'Cristiano Ronaldo'.

"Less afterwards. The president looked at me through eyes that didn't want to say the same thing, as if I was no longer indispensable to them, if you know what I mean.

"That's what made me think about leaving. Sometimes I'd look at the news, where they were saying I was asking to leave.

"There was a bit of that, but the truth is that I always had the impression that the president would not hold me back."

Over in Italy, the 33-year old has continued where he has left off. He has 14 goals and five assists in Serie A, with Juventus flying high at the top of the table once again.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Florentino Perez, Los Blancos, Football News, Football, Serie A, Santiago Bernabeu, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, La Liga