To nobody’s great surprise, Cristiano Ronaldo has undergone a change of heart over his future and has decided to remain at Real Madrid.
Madrid president Florentino Perez admitted Ronaldo was left ‘angry and hurt’ after accusations from the Spanish authorities that he had evaded £12.9million in tax.
Ronaldo informed the club that he would leave if he was convicted of tax fraud and even held a secret meeting with Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, just hours before scoring twice in the Champions League final win over Juventus.
But AS report that Ronaldo has now chosen to stay at Madrid, having been convinced by the club’s hierarchy that he remains crucial to their future plans.
Despite an upcoming court appearance on July 31 over the tax accusations, the outlet report that Ronaldo’s representatives have persuaded him that it’s in his best interests to continue at the Bernabeu.
AS’s Sunday edition front page shows the 32-year-old using a flyboard while on holiday, accompanied by the headline
‘Ronaldo is relaxing.’
Perez previously suggested he would talk with the player after he returned from the Confederations Cup and asserted that he was confident he would stay.
The president has repeatedly come out in Ronaldo’s defence since the allegations and said it was unacceptable that his star man was being ‘treated like a criminal’.
Ronaldo flew back to Madrid in time to be with his newborn twins, who were born via a surrogate mother, after Portugal were knocked out in the semi-finals by Chile.
Though Madrid’s squad will report for pre-season training on Monday, Ronaldo will be given extra time off to recover and is not expected to return until late July.
