Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox.
Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave the club and Spain after being accused of committing tax fraud in the country, according to a report in Portuguese sports daily A Bola.
The newspaper said its story was based on a reliable source and that the 32-year-old four-time world player of the year had already made up his mind to ask the club for a transfer.
'Kung fu soccer' game 'Caneball' gaining popularity
It's a visually striking mix between volleyball and soccer, and it's a much loved pastime for many refugees settling into Australian life, and is now gaining quite a following in high school gyms in Canberra.
Greens senator Rachel Siewert hasn't held back when questioning staff from the Department of Human Services over the so called Centrelink 'robo debt' recovery.
Up Next
ACT police call for witnesses to assault at Mr Wolf nightclub
ACT police call for witnesses to assault at Mr Wolf nightclub
Police ask the public to help them identify three men allegedly involved in an assault at Civic's Mr Wolf nightclub on April 1. CCTV footage supplied by ACT Policing. No sound.
Up Next
How hackers are getting information from air conditioners
Paralysed student uses robot legs to walk on stage at graduation
Paul Jenkins, left paralysed by a motorcycle accident, is the first person in Australia approved under the NDIS to use a robotic walker that allows him to walk with the help of crutches.
'Kung fu soccer' game 'Caneball' gaining popularity
It's a visually striking mix between volleyball and soccer, and it's a much loved pastime for many refugees settling into Australian life, and is now gaining quite a following in high school gyms in Canberra.
It said that Ronaldo was "deeply disenchanted" with the allegations against him.
Record, another sports daily, carried a similar story.
Ronaldo's agents could not immediately be reached for comment.
Spanish prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the player accusing him of defrauding tax authorities of $21.6m by hiding his image rights income between 2011 and 2014. Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing.
Advertisement
Real Madrid said on Thursday they were confident the Portuguese forward had acted legally. They could not immediately be reached on Friday to comment on the report.
Wants out: Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly wants to leave Real Madrid after he has been accused of committing tax fraud. Photo: Getty Images
Ronaldo, Portugal's all-time leading scorer, is the latest in a long line of football players in Spain - among them Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Neymar - to be caught up in cases over tax or transfers.
Ronaldo has completed eight seasons at Real Madrid since joining them from Manchester United in 2009 for a then world record fee of $162 million.
During that time, they have won the Champions League three times and La Liga twice. In November, he agreed to extend his contract until 2021.
He is currently at the Confederations Cup in Russia with the Portuguese national team. His teammate Andre Silva said that Ronaldo was motivated for the tournament.
"All I can say is that he is motivated, focused on the national team and encouraging us on to win the tournament," he told a news conference in Kazan, where Portugal face Mexico on Sunday.