Cristiano Ronaldo — Pay me £320,000 a week or….

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is leaning towards signing a long-term deal at Real Madrid, provided that he is given assurances about his No 1 status at the club with the impending world-record arrival of Gareth Bale.

Ronaldo wants to remain in Spain, despite being linked with moves toManchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, but he is insisting on being paid double Bale’s salary to underline his place as the club’s main galactico.

He will also expect the club to campaign more vigorously for him in future World Player of the Year awards and he also wants a cut of commercial opportunities he is opening up in Asia and America.

Having scored a staggering 175 goals in 167 games for Real, the Portuguese superstar wants a sharp hike in his pay, although his contract has two years left to run.

Ronaldo earns around £160,000 a week — the same ‘starter’ wage that Bale will be on — but the former United forward thinks he deserves about £320,000 a week given his achievements in the Spanish capital.

The fact that Ronaldo has so far failed to agree a new contract has led to speculation about his future, with Real’s former president Ramon Calderon claiming last week the club will sign Bale because they fear losing Ronaldo.

However, it is not the player’s intention to walk away and, if anything, Bale’s arrival from Tottenham will strengthen Madrid’s position in negotiations to keep Ronaldo.

His ego will be hit by no longer being the world’s most expensive player but agreeing a deal to be the best-paid player in Real’s history will compensate for that.

Despite uncertainty over Ronaldo’s future, Bale is signing for Madrid on the understanding he will be playing with the former United superstar, not to replace him.

Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring. AFP PHOTO

It will be a massive surprise now if Bale does not end up at the Bernabeu soon. Among the details to be sorted out is if Portuguese left-back Fabio Coentrao moves the other way to White Hart Lane.

Once the Bale signing is complete, Real will arguably boast the most star-studded squad in history; surpassing even their Zidane-Beckham team from a decade ago.

So many of their squad, such as Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil, Samir Khedira, Angel di Maria and Luka Modric, are at their peak and they also have three World Cup winners in Spanish trio Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso.