Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo could part ways with Real Madrid by the end of this month, according to sources close to the former Manchester United star.
The 32-year-old superstar has returned to training, but his future with the Champions League winners still remains under doubt.
According to Spanish national newspaper El Pais, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner still desires to move away from the La Liga giants by the end of the summer transfer window.
“For now, he’s just concentrating on playing.”
“He is angry about the five-game ban, but he is working just as hard with the team.”
“However, we cannot guarantee whether he will stay or leave.”
“We’ll see what happens in between now and August 31,” revealed a source close to Ronaldo.
The Portuguese forward is currently serving a ban and will not be playing for his club in competitive games after picking a five match suspension in the Spanish Super Cup.
However, Real Madrid have insisted that Ronaldo, who is regarded as on the world’s best footballer ever, will stay put at the Bernabeu.
“Cristiano is one of us and will stay with us,” said Zinedine Zidane during the club’s pre-season tour.
“No one doubts that he stays.”s
And the Los Blancos have slapped a mammoth £174.5million price tag on Ronaldo.
The former Man Utd player had joined the Los Blancos for a then world-record £80m fee back in 2009.
The Portugal skipper is currently caught up in a tax evasion case, and seems to have become unhappy with life in the Spanish capital.
Spain’s prosecutor’s office in Madrid had filed a lawsuit against Ronaldo for allegedly defrauding Spanish authorities of 14.7 million euros between 2011 and 2014.
The prosecutor’s office had said in a statement that Real Madrid’s Ronaldo had knowingly used a business structure created in 2010 to allegedly hide his income in Spain from his image rights.
He told the court: “In England, I never had these problems, that’s why I want to go back there. I always paid my taxes, always.”
“In England and in Spain. And I always paid. As you know, I cannot hide anything, it would be ridiculous on my part to do such a thing.”
Real Madrid would surely not allow their prized asset to leave the club, but sources close to the Portugal skipper believe that a move away from Spain could be looming for the 32-year-old.