Cristiano Ronaldo has settled in well at Juventus after securing a big-money move from Real Madrid.
The Portuguese left without a proper send-off having helped Los Blancos lift their third successive Champions League.
There have been rumours swirling around as to the real reasons behind why he wanted to leave the Bernabeu, where he had carved out a legacy as one of the greatest players of all time.
After nine years in the Spanish capital, Ronaldo finished with 450 goals from 438 games, winning two La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.
But now El Mundo have revealed what they describe as the three prime reasons to move to Turin.
The first reason appears linked to financial trouble, with Ronaldo charged in 2017 with tax evasion of almost €15m from 2011 to 2014.
Before the World Cup this year, Ronaldo was given a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined €18.8m after striking a deal with the Spanish authorities.
“I said I did not want risks,” El Mundo report Ronaldo said to agent Jorge Mendes after being charged in 2017.
Moreover, Ronaldo was fuming with Real Madrid concerning his salary, and craved a contract renewal at the club he built a case to be the greatest of all time.
Given the payments to the Treasury, Ronaldo felt Real should oblige with a new deal, something he believed Barcelona did for Lionel Messi.
The lack of a forthcoming offer was considered as a ‘betrayal’ from Ronaldo, who was also unhappy at falling behind both Messi and Neymar, once he joined Paris Saint-Germain, as the top earners in world football.
“It is a lack of respect that I, the Ballon d’Or winner, earn less than Messi and Neymar. It’s status, respect,” Ronaldo is reported to have explained.
And one final motivation to accept the lure of the Old Lady and seek a new adventure in black and white, was Real’s unwillingness to declare him their greatest player of all time.
Never were they willing to place Ronaldo over and above Alfredo Di Stefano, which Ronaldo simply could not understand, given his numbers and resume at the club.
“They always put me behind Di Stéfano,” said a miffed Ronaldo. “I do not know what else I have to do.”
