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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Guardian sport

Chinese club offered Real Madrid €300m for Cristiano Ronaldo, says agent

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo was offered more than €100m a year to sign for a Chinese club, says his agent.
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo was offered more than €100m a year to sign for a Chinese club, says his agent. Photograph: fotopress/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has claimed that his client has rejected a deal from an un-named Chinese club that would have involved offering Real Madrid €300m to sign the Portuguese forward and paying him more than €100m a year in wages.

“Money is not everything; the Spanish club is his life,” Mendes told Sky Sports Italia. “The Chinese market is a new market. They can buy a lot of players, but then again it is impossible to go for Ronaldo. Cristiano is the best player in the world and best ever. It is normal to have some offers.

“He won the European Championship with Portugal, it’s like winning the Italian league with Genoa: they were not the favourite.”

The transfer offer, if genuine, would eclipse the world record £93.2m Manchester United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba in August.

Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d’Or award for the fourth time last month, earns close to €42m per year at Real Madrid, whom he joined from United for £80m in 2009.

Mendes’s claim comes after the 32-year-old former Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez signed for Shanghai Shenhua in a deal worth £615,000 a week and the Brazilian midfielder Oscar moved to Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea in a deal believed to be worth £52m.

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