Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t going anywhere. The Portuguese football superstar said in an interview with Spanish newspaper, Marca, that he will remain with Real Madrid and help the football club win important trophies like they did last year. Among the championships that Real Madrid and Ronaldo won last season were the La Liga and the EUFA Champions’ League.
“To do it again would be great… Football is my life, it is my passion”, Ronaldo told Marca.
This development has virtually ended the raging stories and rumors about Ronaldo transferring to other football clubs, particularly Manchester United.
Before the news came out, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said Ronaldo was on holiday and would be back with the team in August. Zidane went on to say that he thinks Ronaldo will stay with the club for the next two or three years.
Ronaldo’s tax controversy
There have been plenty of speculations about Ronaldo’s future with Real Madrid. Apparently, the rumors are related to the tax controversy Ronaldo got involved in with the Spanish authorities.
News broke last month that Cristiano Ronaldo was summoned to appear before a Madrid judge to answer allegations of four counts of tax evasion amounting to a total of $16.8 million.
A prosecutor accused the superstar of hiding his total income from Spain’s tax office.
The income subject in the allegations is related to Ronaldo’s earnings from image rights. The unpaid taxes is said to cover the period from 2011 to 2014.
Ronaldo wanted leave Spain
A BBC report, which quoted a source close to the player, stated that Ronaldo was “upset” by the allegations and, at that time, said he just wanted to leave Spain.
Meanwhile Real Madrid issued a statement declaring the club’s "full confidence" to the four-time Ballon d'Or winner. Real went on to say that it is convinced Ronaldo would prove his innocence.
According to Forbes, the Real Madrid superstar had an income of about $93 million last year. This figure is higher than the earnings of other sports big names including his rival Lionel Messi and basketball giant LeBron James.
Lionel Messi’s tax case
The tax controversy involving Cristiano Ronaldo is hardly isolated given that his main football rival, Argentinian and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi was also involved in a similar issue.
Messi was found guilty of tax evasion last year. The ruling was upheld by the Spanish Supreme Court this year after Messi appealed the conviction.
