It’s official now- Cristiano Ronaldo, by many measures the most famous and wealthiest athlete alive, has left Real Madrid for Juventus. It had been speculated on for over a week, but confirmation has now come, via a letter written by Ronaldo himself, and posted on the official Real Madrid website less than an hour ago.
“I only have feelings of enormous gratitude for this club, for this hobby and for this city. I can only thank all of them for the love and affection I have received,” CR7 wrote.
“However, I believe that the time has come to open a new stage in my life and that is why I have asked the club to accept transferring me. I feel that way and I ask everyone, and especially our followers, to please understand me. They have been absolutely wonderful for 9 years.”
“They have been 9 unique years.”
Ronaldo moves to Juventus on a deal with a transfer fee reportedly worth €100m (£88.3m) fee. The Guardian reports that CR7 is signing a four-year contract with an annual salary of around €30 million, which comes out to £500,000 a week. The 33-year-old won has a record-tying five Ballon d’Or awards, the most for a European player.
BREAKING: @realmadrid have confirmed that @Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for @juventusfc. pic.twitter.com/Bfz9lopVbF
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 10, 2018
He is also the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. Ronaldo had been linked with a move back to Manchester United the past few summer transfer windows, but current manager Jose Mourinho wasn’t reportedly interested. United stand to now earn £2.2 million off this transaction via the Solidarity Mechanism.
So who will Real acquire to try and replace the winner of 26 trophies over the course of his career? Chelsea and Belgium forward Eden Hazard could be a leading option.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.