Portugal and Real Madrid forward,
Cristian Ronaldo arrived in court on
Monday morning to face charges of
tax evasion filed by Spanish
authorities.
There were dozens of journalists and
cameramen were all present at the
court in Madrid, according to the
BBC.
Prosecutors allege he avoided paying
millions in taxes since 2010, a charge
the World Footballer of the Year
denies.
Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates Barcelona’s third goal during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / OSCAR DEL POZO
Barcelona’s Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, who recently extended his contract with the Catalan club, is “the best paid player in the world,” club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said Friday.
Barcelona announced Wednesday that Messi had agreed to extend his contract until 2021, in a deal that will keep the five times winner of the Ballon D’Or at the club until he is 34.
No financial terms were disclosed but Bartomeu told the Barcelona sports daily Mundo Deportivo: “He is the best player in the world and he is paid like the best in the world and in the history of football.
“He is the best paid sports player, because no one brings as much to his club as Leo Messi.”
Prior to his contract extension, Messi was the third highest paid sportsman in the world with an income of $80, million of which 53 million was in salary and bonuses, according the ranking published by Forbes magazine in June.
His great rival, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, topped the ranking with $93 million, of which 58 million was in salary and bonuses, ahead of American basketball player LeBron James ($86,2 million of which 31,2 million in salary and bonuses).
Ronaldo and his seven years old son 'Ronaldo jrn' cuddlewith his new set of twins as he shared on instagram'Blessed'
- Cristiano Ronaldo has not demanded a move awy from Real Madrid
- The player is unhappy with how the club handled his tax evasion claims
- He has met with Real Madrid chiefs to discuss his current situation
- Ronaldo has been linked with a move to former club Manchester United
Reports from Spain say Cristiano Ronaldo has ‘denied’ telling Real Madrid he want to leave the club after Spanish authorities accused him of tax evasion.
The player is reportedly unhappy with Real Madrid for how handled the situation after the accusion by authorities.
It was also claimed the the Portugal international – who recently announced his new twins – asked agent Jorge Mendes to seal a move back to Manchester United.
Ronaldo never told Real Madrid he wants to join Manchester United
After Portugal lost in the semi-final of the Confederations Cup, the 32-year-old went to meet his twins for the first time.
According to Mundo Deportivo, he then met with Madrid officials to discuss hos future.
The Portugal captain later denied ever wanting to leave the Champions League holders this summer.
Ronaldo helped Portugal to the semi final
After his national team Portugal was eliminated
from the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia last
night, Cristiano Ronaldo took to his Facebook
page to announce he was leaving the tournament
early to go be with his new born twin sons born
via a surrogate. He wrote;
"I was in the service of the national team,
as always, body and soul, even though my
two sons were born. Unfortunately, we
have not been able to achieve the main
sporting objective that we wanted, but I
am sure we will continue to give joy to the
Portuguese.
The President of the Portuguese Football
Federation and the national picker have
today had an attitude that has touched me
and I will not forget.
I'm very happy to finally be with my
children for the first time.
The national team also released a statement
saying;
"The President of the FPF and the National
Team were informed before the
Confederations Cup by the National Team
captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, that he had
been a father.
"The athlete, despite the birth of his
children, made a point of being in the
service of the National Team, in a gesture
that we must underline and praise.
"The President of the FPF and the National
Selector understand that if it is impossible
to reach the goal of winning the
Confederations Cup, they must release the
athlete so that he can finally get to know
his children."
