Cristiano Ronaldo news: "We never had any trouble", Florentino Perez gives different reasons for Ronaldo's exit
What's the story?
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez appears to have rubbished opinions that his strained relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo led to the forward's departure last summer. The controversial chief claims that his relationship with the Portuguese talisman "has always been good" and had nothing to do with his exit.
In case you didn't know
Ronaldo left Real Madrid in a surprising €100m transfer to Serie A titans Juventus last summer, citing his relationship with the club president as one of the reasons for the decision.
The 34-year-old felt Perez had only considered him to be a means to an end and never looked at the relationship beyond mere business.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner said last October, "He only ever looked at me as a business relationship. I know it. What he told me never came from the heart."
"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. In the first four or five years there, I had the feeling of being ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’. Less afterward. 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."
The heart of the matter
In an interview with 'El Transistor' on Onda Cero (via Marca), Perez claimed that it was Ronaldo's desire for a new challenge that led to his departure and not the relationship the two shared.
He said, "I think he already had it quite clear that he wanted new challenges. He used that moment to say it, but I think he'd been thinking about it for some time. He never created any problems during the nine years at Real Madrid, never once arriving late or anything. I think he's the best player I signed for Real Madrid. I always had a great relationship with him."
Perez also denied that the club's refusal to help Ronaldo pay his debts to the tax authorities to be one of the reasons for his exit.
"We never had any problems, not even over money. We never talked about his [tax] debt. The president was asked if he'd spoken with Ronaldo since his move to Juventus. I don't speak about those private matters."
What's next?
Ronaldo enjoyed a decent first season at the Old Lady, helping them to their eighth consecutive Serie A title and a Supercoppa Italiana. He netted 21 league goals for the club all season and was named the Serie A's Player of the Year for his exploits.
The Bianconeri talisman will return to action when Portugal faces Switzerland in the Nations League on June 5.