Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/838705
maltatoday SUNDAY, 18 JUNE 2017 Sport 50 FOOTBALL Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo determined to quit Spain Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo appears determined to quit Spain as he believes he is being singled out for unfair treatment by the tax authorities 32YEAROLD is "outraged" after prosecutors accused him of defrauding the authorities of 14.7million euros (£12.8million). Reports claim the "outraged" Portugal international "feels great indignation" with all the specu- lation about his tax affairs and and a sense of "injustice" at the allegations – which he contests – and has made a decision to leave Spain. Earlier this week Ronaldo's agency Gestifute released a state- ment which said: "There is no tax evasion scheme... There has never been any hiding nor any intention to hide anything." On Thursday Ronaldo, who signed a new five-year contract in November, posted a picture of himself with his fingers to his lips on Instagram with the caption "Sometimes the best answer it's to be quiet". Ronaldo's tactics are not dissim- ilar to those of Barcelona's Lionel Messi who took a similar stance in threatening to quit Spain in 2014, also claiming he had been singled out for special treatment, when he was accused of conceal- ing 4.1million euros (£3.5million) from the authorities. The Argentina forward was found guilty and subsequently lost an appeal against a 21-month prison sentence (under Spanish law sentences under two years are usually suspended) and a fine of 2.1million euros (£1.8million). As one of the most marketable players in the world, Ronaldo's po- tential availability would generate much interest, but only the very richest clubs in the world would be able to afford him. His Real contract is understood to have a buyout clause of 1billion euros (£874million) and, in May, Forbes calculated his pre-tax sal- ary as being close to £45million a year. The Euro 2016 winner has helped Real secure the Champi- ons League three times, scoring twice in last month's final as they became the first club to retain the title, and he became only the sec- ond player to score in three finals. He is the competition's record goalscorer with 105. He has also won two LaLiga ti- tles with the club he joined from Manchester United for £80mil- lion in 2009. Perez closing in on third mandate as Real president REAL Madrid President Floren- tino Perez is closing in on a third consecutive mandate until 2021, with no candidate having de- clared his intention to challenge him in the election two days be- fore Sunday's deadline. Perez, who began his second spell as Real president in 2009 and has presided over three Champions League wins in the last four years, has barely had to contend with any rivals for his position since the club approved changes to internal rules for presidential candidates in 2012. The alterations meant anyone aspiring to be president had to have been a member of Real for at least 20 years compared to the old requisite of 10, and have a personal guarantee of over 75 million euros from a Spanish bank. The barriers saw off potential challengers in the last election in 2013 while this time no can- didate has even spoken of the possibility of taking on the con- struction magnate, who turned 70 earlier this year. If, as expected, no candidate presents a bid before Sunday's deadline, Perez will be confirmed on Monday as president until 2021, further cementing his rock solid position as head of the Eu- ropean and Spanish champions Perez first became Real presi- dent in 2000, seeing off incum- bent Lorenzo Sanz by promising to lure Luis Figo from bitter ri- vals Barcelona, which he quickly delivered on by bringing the Por- tuguese to the Spanish capital for a then world record fee of 62 mil- lion euros. Figo was the first piece of Perez's expensive and ambitious 'Galacticos' project which later brought the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Ronaldo to the club. It brought initial success but ended with the team f loundering on the pitch, prompting Perez's resignation in February 2006. The Spaniard returned to the top role at the Santiago Berna- beu in 2009 using the same tac- tics that had got him elected nine years earlier, breaking the world transfer record twice in the a week by bringing first Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo to the club. The large-scale investment in top talent could not initially help the club keep up with Barcelona for silverware and it was not un- til four years into his second pre- miership that the team won the La Liga title in 2012, with a first Champions League triumph in 12 years following in 2014. Perez was in a precarious posi- tion in November 2015 following a harrowing 4-0 home defeat by Barcelona which caused furious supporters to call on him to re- sign. Perez did not budge, however, and his next move in sacking coach Rafael Benitez after five months in charge and replacing him with the inexperienced Zi- dane proved a stroke of genius. The former midfielder has over- seen a glorious 18 months during which Real snapped a five-year run without the La Liga title and became the first team to suc- cessfully defend the Champions League by beating Juventus 3-1 in the final in Cardiff this month.