Ronaldo ends speculation: ‘I’m staying at Real’

Ending weeks of speculation about his future, Cristiano Ronaldo has told a Spanish newspaper he is staying put at Real Madrid to plunder more silverware.
“To win important trophies with my club and the personal honors last season was brilliant, to do it again would be nice,” Ronaldo told the sports daily Marca on Tuesday in an interview from Shanghai.
Ronaldo’s declaration of intent to remain at the Bernabeu for the upcoming season comes despite rumors of his departure which surfaced last month in Portuguese newspaper O Globo.
Those reports were founded on his apparent feeling of abandonment by his club over his run-in with the Spanish tax authorities.
Ronaldo, 32, has been summoned to appear before a judge near Madrid on July 31 to answer four counts of evading €14.7 million ($16.8 million) in taxes.
The four-time Ballon d’Or winner has protested his innocence with O Globo saying he had threatened to leave Real over the investigation.
Since extending his contract last November until 2021, Ronaldo is the highest paid sports star in the world with $93 million (€83 million) in 2016-2017, according to Forbes magazine.
On Saturday, Real manager Zinedine Zidane assured Real supporters that the superstar striker “was on holiday and would be back with us on Aug. 5.”
Ronaldo has been given leave to miss the club’s pre-season US tour and Zidane, speaking in Los Angeles, insisted that he would be back at the club “on the fifth (of August) and I think he’ll stay for the next two or three years he’s got left with us.”
In Tuesday’s Marca interview Ronaldo also looked ahead to the 2018 World Cup with European champions Portugal.
“We still have to qualify but I’m hoping that Portugal can win an incredible title.”
Real Madrid reaches Mbappe deal with Monaco — report
Real Madrid have reached agreement to sign Kylian Mbappe from Monaco for a world record €180 million ($210 million), Spanish media reported on Tuesday.
Sports daily Marca, citing sources close to the negotiations, said the teenage striker is expected to joining Real “in the next few days” on a six-year deal.
French newspapers Le Parisien and Nice Matin said Monaco had denied the report.
But Marca insisted that Real are set to pay between €150-160 million ($175-187 million) with add-ons of between €20-30 million ($23-35 million), dwarfing the current world transfer record of €105 million ($122 million) Manchester United paid to lure Paul Pogba from Juventus last year.
Real are looking to fill the void left by Alvaro Morata who joined English Premier League champions Chelsea last Friday.
If he does arrive at Zinedine Zidane’s European champions the 18-year-old will be on a net annual salary of “7 million” euros, Marca said.
Mbappe, under contract at Monaco until 2019, has been wooed by some of Europes’ top clubs, including Monaco’s arch Ligue rivals Paris Saint-Germain.
Last week Monaco issued a warning to the likes of Real and PSG to lay off their starlet.
“Top European football clubs made contact with Kylian Mbappe and his entourage without our authorization,” Monaco said on their website.
The club said they wanted to remind these clubs that such actions are contrary to French and international regulations.
Mbappe scored six goals in 10 Champions League outings and 15 in Ligue 1 as he exploded onto the scene in the second half of last season
source:Arab News